- Date
- June 26, 1992, 15:53 local (22:53 UTC)
- Place
- Prescott, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N601DESmith, Ted Aerostar Aerostar 601
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920626022069A
- Case key
- 27661
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 airplane's failure to achieve an adequate rate of climb because of degraded aerodynamic performance and the pilot's intentional operation of the aircraft with known deficiencies. A factor in the accident was the high density altitude condition.
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
Bfr flt, the owner/plt rcvd a special airworthiness certificate, allowing him to make a ferry flt fm Colorado to California for maint. A cond for the faa's issuance of the permit was that an a & p mechanic must certify the acft was 'safe for the flight.' The plt was an a & p mechanic & provided the requisite certification. An acdnt occurred drg takeoff fm an en route stop. A witness to the takeoff rprtd the acft used 5500 ft of rwy before becoming airborne. The acft failed to climb higher than 200 ft AGL before colliding with rough trrn about 2 mi fm the arpt. At the time of the mishap, the computed density alt was aprx 7760 ft. personnel, who responded to the crash site, observed that duct tape had been used to secure an angle iron onto a landing gear leg (for the purpose of providing a stiff leg cond). Duct tape had also been used on the deteriorated wing tips (to keep them streamlined). Two hornet nests were fnd in airframe air inlets. The plt rprtd that no mech failure or malfunction occurred drg takeoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N601DE
- Reported as
- Smith, Ted Aerostar Aerostar 601 (AEROSTAR 6)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 61-0007
- Airframe hours
- 2,589
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-P1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert C. Reid
- Registered owner
- Robert C. Reid
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special flight (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · June 25, 1992 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- PRC
- Destination
- L35 · Big Bear City, CA
- Airport
- PRC · Ernest Love Field, runway 21, 7,616 × 150 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
- 60
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,852 total · 21 in this make and model · 7,350 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PRC, 2 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.