- Date
- September 26, 2004, 11:37 local (17:37 UTC)
- Place
- Broomfield, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N200FFSmith, Ted Aerostar 601P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20040926024799A
- Case key
- 60225
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision to accept a short traffic pattern and the improper flare resulting in a hard landing.
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
The pilot said he was asked by the tower to make a short approach. He was then asked to make his right base turn, such that he had to continue his turn to roll out on final over the runway. The pilot said he leveled the wings and had a hard landing. The pilot said that the right main landing gear collapsed and the airplane slid off the left side of the runway. An examination of the airplane showed the left main landing gear strut was broken and pushed upward through the top of the left wing engine nacelle. The right wing was broken upward at the wing root. Both propellers' blades showed torsional bending and chordwise scratches. Flight control continuity was confirmed. No other anomalies were found.
Factual narrative
On September 26, 2004, at 1137 mountain daylight time, a Ted Smith Aerostar 601P, N200FF, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Denver-Jefferson County Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted on a visual flight rules flight plan under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot and passenger on board the airplane reported no injuries. The local flight originated at 1050.
The pilot said he was asked by the BJC tower to make a short approach. He was then asked to make his right base turn, such that he had to continue his turn to roll out on final over the runway. The pilot said he leveled the wings and had a hard landing. The pilot said that the right main landing gear collapsed and the airplane slid off the left side of runway 29R.
An examination of the airplane showed the left main landing gear strut was broken and pushed upward through the top of the left wing engine nacelle. The right wing was broken upward at the wing root. Both propellers' blades showed torsional bending and chordwise scratches. Flight control continuity was confirmed. No other anomalies were found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N200FF
- Reported as
- Smith, Ted Aerostar 601P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 61P-0941-200
- Airframe hours
- 2,038
- Engines
- Lycoming IO-540-S1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming IO-540-S1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael D. Plante
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2004 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- BJC · Broomfield, CO
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- BJC · Jefferson County Airport, runway 29R, 9,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- August 20, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,605 total · 358 in this make and model · 1,448 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- BJC, 1 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.