- Date
- January 10, 1987, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pahokee, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N181XSmith, Ted Aerostar Aerostar 601
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870110000409A
- Case key
- 31845
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
The plt stated that he was conducting an over water apch to rwy 17 when he observed traffic preparing to land ahead of him. He slowed the acft for traffic separation, lowered the gear, & extended partial flaps. He then stated that he felt an abnormal loss of altitude & airspeed which he attributed to failure of the right eng, though the rudder pedals didn't feel as though the eng had malfunctioned. He added power to maintain an airspeed above VMC, then full power as he didn't get the expected response in thrust or airspeed. The flaps were then retracted & the acft crashed into the lake. Post crash examination of the right eng revealed no evidence of malfunction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N181X
- Reported as
- Smith, Ted Aerostar Aerostar 601 (AEROSTAR 6)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 61-0149-079
- Airframe hours
- 2,655
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-S1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Frank A. Balcar
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 6, 1986 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- LNA · West Palm Bch, FL
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
- 71
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 18,129 total · 2,654 in this make and model · 18,000 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI, 32 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.