N51RFRockwell International 500-S · 1977

On April 8, 2011, at 1730 central daylight time, a Rockwell International 500-S, N51RF, sustained substantial damage during the landing roll when the right main landing gear collapsed after the airplane veered off the left side of runway 10R (5,000 feet by 100 feet, asphalt) at the Flying Cloud Airport (FCM), Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The commercial pilot and the airline transport co-pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane departed FCM at 1500 on a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight, and had filed a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan.

The pilot reported that he flew a stabilized visual approach with the airplane properly configured for landing. The airplane touched down on the centerline but it drifted to the right, and then "immediately went hard left." The pilot and co-pilot attempted to control the airplane and maintain centerline, but the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The airplane skidded to a complete stop. The right main landing gear collapsed and the right wingtip hit the ground, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wing.

The postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed no pre-impact anomalies. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure.

At 1653, the surface weather observation at FCM was: wind 170 degrees at 24 knots, visibility 10 miles, overcast 5,500 feet, temperature 16 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 6 degrees C, altimeter 29.90 inches of mercury.

The airplane was registered to and operated by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a public aircraft. Because they are operated as public aircraft, they are not subject to many of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Exceptions being use of airspace, air traffic control, and aircraft registration regulations. However, it is NOAA policy that aircraft shall be operated and maintained in accordance with all pertinent regulations issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (AOC), unless a deviation is approved by the Commanding Officer, AOC.

The twin-engine Rockwell AS-500S (Aero Commander) airplane was being operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducting snow survey flights. The airplane initially departed from the Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Grand Forks, North Dakota and made a refueling stop at the Fargo International Airport, Fargo, North Dakota. The airplane was on a repositioning flight back to GFK when the accident occurred. During the flight, the airplane was cleared by air traffic control for the runway 17R localizer backcourse approach to GFK. The airplane landed on runway 17R with the landing gear in the retracted position, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. Subsequently, the engines were shut down and the aircraft was evacuated. The minimum descent altitude and visibility requirements for the approach were 1,200 feet above mean sea level (msl) and 1 mile respectively. The ceiling and visibility at the time of the accident were 800 feet (about 1,650 feet msl) and 1 mile respectively. The operator noted that there were no mechanical malfunctions.