May 8, 2008, Hope, Ark., Aero Commander AC-680

At 1019 Central time, the airplane sustained substantial damage during an emergency landing. The private pilot and the passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. According to witnesses, the airplane "sounded bad" and was "weaving back and forth" as it approached the runway with its right wing low. The airplane landed, then bounced several times before coming to a complete stop. One witness said the airplane was never fully lined up with the runway.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An airplane sustained substantial damage during an emergency landing, though the pilot and passenger were uninjured, following witnesses observing erratic flight and an unaligned, bouncing landing.
Investigators found critical fuel system deficiencies, including disabled outboard tanks, low fuel in the only active tank, and significant contamination (sludgy debris, water) in the fuel strainer.
Further examination revealed potential airworthiness issues such as uninstalled avionics in the instrument panel and a large amount of duct tape on the nose cone access cover.

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At 1019 Central time, the airplane sustained substantial damage during an emergency landing. The private pilot and the passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. According to witnesses, the airplane “sounded bad” and was “weaving back and forth” as it approached the runway with its right wing low. The airplane landed, then bounced several times before coming to a complete stop. One witness said the airplane was never fully lined up with the runway.

According to investigators, the right wings two outboard tanks had been disabled and only the right inboard tank was being utilized at the time of the accident. It appeared to be less than a quarter full. Approximately two cups of what appeared to be a mixture of brown sludgy debris, water and blue fuel were drained from the main fuel strainer in the fuselage. Several avionics were not installed in the instrument panel and a large amount of duct tape was placed over an access cover on the nose cone near the pilots side windshield.