- Date
- September 13, 1985, 11:11 local (16:11 UTC)
- Place
- Eva, AL
- Injuries
- 6 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N680CCSmith, Ted Aerostar Aerostar 600
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850913044859A
- Case key
- 6894
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Drg an IFR arrival/dscnt, the plt stated he 'had to feather 1 eng, I have an oil leak & I'm just trying to dscnd . . .' He then said he was dscndg thru 5300'. As he contd the apch, he informed the controller he would be unable to go around since the hydr sys was powered by the affected (r) eng. Subsequently, the plt said he was at 1500' & was having a hard time holding alt. A witness heard & saw the acft in a level attitude at low alt, then saw the acft dive toward the ground. It impacted in a steep dscnt just short of a long field & burned. The r prop was feathered, but there was no evidence of oil starvation in either eng. The plt's neighbor said he (the plt) was aware of a hydr leak, but he was awaiting the annual inspn (due in sep) to repair it. An exam revealed the flaps were partially extended, the lndg gear control was in the 'up' psn, & the gear was down. The flt manual stated that with a hydr failure downstream of the accumulator, the flap handle should be in 'neutral' to prevent gear & flap extn. The flap control could not be fnd.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N680CC
- Reported as
- Smith, Ted Aerostar Aerostar 600 (AEROSTAR 6)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 60-0031
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-G1B5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William D. Champion
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 26, 1984
- Departed
- LAL · Lakeland, FL
- Destination
- HSV · Huntsville, AL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- HSV · Huntsville-Madison County, runway 36R, 8,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,993 total · 97 in this make and model · 326 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HSV, 16 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.