Save the Checks: Turboprop Hauling Flight Faces Harrowing Double-Engine Failure

After not being able to get in a word edgewise with ATC, without warning, the right engine quit.

Brian Thomson

Wednesday, December 31, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

[Illustration credit: Joel Kimmel]

Key Takeaways:

On his first flight as PIC in an AC680W Turbo Commander, the pilot experienced a dual engine failure due to fuel siphoning from a faulty, deteriorated fuel cap seal, despite the fuel gauge showing full.
Faced with an inoperative DME, partially extended landing gear, non-extending flaps, and severe fog, the pilot skillfully glided the aircraft for an ILS approach, overrunning the runway in a high-speed landing but saving himself and his mechanic from a worse fate.
The pilot, though injured, famously prioritized saving his cargo of checks, earning him the call sign "Save the Checks," and the incident highlighted the critical importance of rigorous maintenance and thorough pre-buy inspections for older aircraft.

See a mistake? Contact us.

I was flying for a check hauling company (which will remain anonymous), upgrading from Beech Barons to the AC680W Turbo Commander. The aircraft training consisted of a week (Monday through Friday) flying my normal route from Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina, and back to Atlanta.

Friday evening, with a blessing from the company instructor, I was released to fly as PIC. The evening of Saturday, November 20, 1983, I would take my first flight as PIC in the Turbo Commander and single pilot.