Smith AEROSTAR 601P accident near Austin, TX
On September 10, 2014, a Smith AEROSTAR 601P (airplane) was involved in an accident near Austin, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 10, 2014
- Place
- Austin, TX
- Aircraft
- Smith AEROSTAR 601P · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 30.233°N, 97.200°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140910X71553
Official records · CEN14FA494
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 10, 2014, at 1326 central daylight time, a Smith 601P, N711YM, impacted terrain ½-mile north of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Austin, Texas. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from Dallas Executive Airport (RBD), Dallas, Texas, at 1226, and was en route to AUS. At 1314, when the airplane was just east of the Georgetown Airport (GTU), Georgetown, Texas, the pilot asked for visual flight rules (VFR) flight following services from AUS approach control. Radar contact was established and the pilot was given the AUS weather and was vectored towards runway 17L. Mode C transponder returns indicated the airplane was at an altitude of 6,500 feet. At 1326:29, the pilot was told to contact the control tower. At that time, radar indicated the airplane was just short of runway 17 and travelling at a ground speed of 88 knots. [The airplane's flaps down stall speed is 77 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS), and its flaps up stall speed is 84 KIAS.] The pilot never contacted the tower. At 1341, the tower controller said she did not have radio contact with the airplane but could see smoke north of the airport. Units from the Austin Fire Department, who had responded to earlier reports of a ground cover fire, discove
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient clearance from trees during the single-engine landing approach. Contributing to the accident was the loss of power in the left engine due to an improperly installed rubber boot that became dislodged and was then partially sucked into the fuel injector servo, which caused an excessively rich fuel-air mixture that would not support combustion.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
- Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
- Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984
Browse: Texas · 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.
