Incident Overview

Date: Friday 31 October 1969
Aircraft Type: Rockwell 1121 Jet Commander
Owner/operator: Pittston Co.
Registration Number: N236JP
Location: Rural Retreat, VA – ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: Unknown
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Component Affected: Left aileronLeft aileron
Investigating Agency: NTSBNTSB
Category: Accident
A Jet Commander 1121, N236JF, crashed during descent to Tri-City Airport, Tennessee, resulting in the deaths of the crew and one passenger. The aircraft impacted the ground at an altitude of 2450 feet, cratered 25 feet in diameter, and sustained damage to the left aileron. The incident was attributed to a malfunction in the 115-volt alternating current electrical system, which led to loss of flight instruments and control.A Jet Commander 1121, N236JF, crashed during descent to Tri-City Airport, Tennessee, resulting in the deaths of the crew and one passenger. The aircraft impacted the ground at an altitude of 2450 feet, cratered 25 feet in diameter, and sustained damage to the left aileron. The incident was attributed to a malfunction in the 115-volt alternating current electrical system, which led to loss of flight instruments and control.

Description

The Pittston Company’s Jet Commander 1121, N236JF, on a flight from LaGuardia Airport, New York, to Tri-City Airport, Johnson City, Tennessee, crashed while descending on a radar vector to the final approach course at Tri-City. The crew of two and the one passenger aboard the aircraft were fatally injured. The aircraft made contact with the ground 2450 feet above sea level while in an approximately 60 degree nosedown wings-level attitude. The impact site was about 2 miles northeast of Mountain Empire Airport, Rural Retreat, Virginia. The impact crater was 25 feet in diameter at the top, with a depth of about 18 feet. The left aileron was the only large piece of the aircraft that was visible in the crater. The remainder of the wreckage was below the loose dirt at the 9-foot level or strewn forward along both sides of a wreckage path that extended 500 feet beyond the crater. PROBABLE CAUSE: “Following a malfunction or failure in the 115-Volt alternating current electrical system, the crew did not take proper action, resulting in the loss of the pilot’s flight instruments in instrument flight conditions and subsequent loss of control.”

Primary Cause

Malfunction or failure in the 115-volt alternating current electrical system.Malfunction or failure in the 115-volt alternating current electrical system.

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