# Accident 20100123027329A: Smith AEROSTAR 60, Sugar Grove, IL, January 23, 2010

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 23, 2010, 18:52 local time
- Place: Sugar Grove, IL
- Airport: Aurora
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.8017° N, 88.4617° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.8017&lon=-88.4617&mi=10
- Aircraft: N222AQ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N222AQ-2018-01-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Smith AEROSTAR 601P (registry code 8360608, https://openairdocs.org/model/smith-aerostar-601p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SMITH AEROSTAR 60
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 503 total, 25 in this make and model, 70 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN10FA108](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN10FA108) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100123027329A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON JANUARY 23, 2010 AT 1850 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A SMITH AEROSTAR 601P, N222AQ DEPARTED RUNWAY 09 AT AURORA AIRPORT (ARR), IN SUGAR GROVE ILLINOIS, ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN METROPOLITAN AIRPORT (BJC), IN DENVER COLORADO.  AFTER DEPARTURE THE PILOT WAS ISSUED A LEFT TURN TO A HEADING OF 270 AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT DEPARTURE CONTROL.  THE PILOT CONTACTED DEPARTURE CONTROL AND REPORTED THAT HE WAS LEAVING 1,300 FEET AND CLIMBING TO 3,000 FEET, AIR TRAFFIC THEN CLEARED HIM TO 4,000 FEET.  THE PILOT ACKNOWLEGED THE CLEARANCE AND THERE WAS NO FURTHER CONTACT.  AT 1852 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND AND A RESIDENCE, FATALLY INJURING THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER.  FOUR OCCUPANTS IN THE RESIDENCE WERE NOT INJURED AND THE RESIDENCE SUSTAINED SOME DAMAGE FROM IMPACT AND FIRE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CEN10FA108](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN10FA108), Jan 24, 2010: Smith Aerostar 601P (N222AQ), Sugar Grove, IL, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation and subsequent failure to maintain airplane control.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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