Smith Aerostar 601P accident near Chittenden, VT
On January 25, 2002, a Smith Aerostar 601P (airplane) was involved in an accident near Chittenden, VT. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 25, 2002
- Place
- Chittenden, VT
- Aircraft
- Smith Aerostar 601P · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 43.819°N, 72.892°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020205X00188
Official records · NYC02FA051
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 25, 2002, about 1710 eastern standard time, a Smith Aerostar 601P, N104CS, was destroyed when it impacted terrain in Chittenden, Vermont. The certificated private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (JST), Johnstown, Pennsylvania; destined for Rutland State Airport (RUT), Rutland, Vermont. An instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. Review of air traffic control (ATC) data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed: At 1646:09, the pilot was at 11,000 feet msl, and requested vectors for the Localizer Runway 19 approach to RUT. ATC advised the pilot that he was "number two" for the approach. At 1654:32, ATC advised the pilot that he was "number three" for the approach, and queried the pilot to copy holding instructions. At 1654:47, ATC instructed the pilot to hold at the GITEW intersection as published, expect a further clearance at [1720], and asked what altitude he'd like to hold at. The pilot asked for 8,000 or 9,000 feet, and was cleared to 8,000 feet. At 1656:47, ATC advised the pilot to amend the clearance and hold at 9,000; the pilot complied. At 1703:51, the pilot was subsequently cleared to 8,000 feet. At 1705:23, the pilot advised the he was picking up "a little bit of ice." ATC asked if the pilot would like to return to 9,000 feet, but the pilot replied, "negative, I might as well start keeping working my way down." At 1705:34, ATC advised that the pilot
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while holding.
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Browse: Vermont · Smith 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.
