CLEVELAND, OH, USA
N3711T
AERO COMMANDER 685
WHILE TURNING FROM DOWNWIND TO BASE LEG, THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED DESCENDING RAPIDLY IN A STEEP BANK. WITNESSES REPORTED SMOKE WAS TRAILING FROM THE ACFT. THE ACFT CRASHED IN AN INDUSTRIAL AREA. AN EXAM OF THE RIGHT ENG REVEALED THAT THE EXHAUST-TO-TURBO ADAPTER, PN 641829, HAD FRACTURED & SEPARATED. THE FRACTURE WAS A RESULT OF THERMAL FATIGUE & IT HAD PROPAGATED ACROSS MORE THAN 95% OF THE AREA BEFORE FINAL SEPARATION HAD OCCURRED. SINCE AN EXAM OF THE COWLING & BOTH ENGINES SHOWED NO STREAKING HEAT OR SMOKE PATTERNS, THE REPORTED 'SMOKE' WAS ATTRIBUTED TO EXHAUST GAS. WHILE THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER IN THE RIGHT ENG, NO OTHER ACFT MALFUNCTIONS WERE FOUND THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED LOSS OF CONTROL.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
Aviation Accidents App
In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports
