On November 12, 1974, a Rockwell Grand Commander 690 (registration N40MP) operated by Montana Power Company was involved in an aviation accident near Kingston, United States of America in flight. One person was killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The collision occurred at night when the aircraft was not under radar contact with no control. The F-111 crew had a rendezvous with a USAF KC-135 refueling plane for a night exercise but mistook the Commander, which was struck from the rear with a 0-10° angle. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 1 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A twin-engine Commander airplane on a ferry flight from Phoenix to Butte collided with a USAF F-111A Aardvark at 17,500 feet near Kingston. The Commander pilot was killed; both F-111 crew members were seriously injured.
Accident
During a night ferry flight from Phoenix to Butte, a twin-engine Commander airplane was cruising at an altitude of 17,500 feet when it collided with a United States Air Force General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark (registration 67-0055). The collision occurred near Kingston. Following the impact, both aircraft entered a dive and crashed in flames. The pilot of the Commander was killed, while both military pilots aboard the F-111 sustained serious injuries.
Investigation
The official investigation determined the probable cause of the accident. According to the findings, the collision occurred at night when the aircraft was not under radar contact and with no control. It was understood that the F-111 crew had been scheduled for a rendezvous with a USAF Boeing KC-135 refueling plane for a night exercise. However, the F-111 pilot mistook the Commander airplane for the tanker, resulting in a rear-end strike at an angle of 0 to 10 degrees.