Piper AEROSTAR 600 accident near N. Myrtle Beach, SC
On September 20, 1998, a Piper AEROSTAR 600 (airplane) was involved in an accident near N. Myrtle Beach, SC. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 20, 1998
- Place
- N. Myrtle Beach, SC
- Aircraft
- Piper AEROSTAR 600 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.771°N, 78.779°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11124
Official records · MIA98FA250
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Recording 17 - Factual Report of Group Chairman: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 20, 1998, about 1431 eastern daylight time, a Piper Aerostar 600, N17MT, registered to a private individual, crashed shortly after takeoff from the Grand Strand Airport, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The commercial-rated pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. An individual on the ground who was injured by fire, subsequently died 6 days after the accident. The flight originated about 3 minutes earlier. According to a line service person employed by Ramp 66, North Myrtle Beach, the airplane had been hangared since arrival 3 days earlier and before the flight departed, he noted that the pilot was seated in the left front seat and a younger looking person of the three passengers was seated in the right front seat. Both engines started "ok", and the pilot waited on the ground for about 20-25 minutes with the engines idling. During that time he observed the pilot wiping sweat from his face using a cloth; he was doing something on the panel, and he put on his headset and kneeboard. He reported that he drove a golf cart to a corner of the field for the purpose of watching the takeoff, and while there, the airplane arrived at the run-up area. He did not hear an engine run-up, and noted that the engines remained at idle while the airplane was stopped there for about 5-6 minutes. He then positioned his cart to a point abou
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed (Vs) during a single engine approach resulting in an inadvertent stall. Factors contributing to the accident were a fatigue crack in the exhaust pipe in the right engine, the aircraft weight and balance was exceeded, degraded aircraft performance and the pilot's diverted attention.
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Browse: South Carolina · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
