Smith AEROSTAR 601 accident near Miami, FL
On December 10, 2017, a Smith AEROSTAR 601 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Miami, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 10, 2017
- Place
- Miami, FL
- Aircraft
- Smith AEROSTAR 601 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 25.644°N, 80.456°W
- NTSB ID
- 20171210X70535
Official records · CEN18FA050
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 10, 2017, at 1450 eastern standard time, a Smith Aerostar 601 airplane, N7529S, collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from Miami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida. The pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. The airplane was registered to the pilot who was operating it as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which was originating at the time of the accident. An employee of the flight school where the airplane was tied down stated that the pilot arrived about 1000 and began to preflight the airplane. About 1030, the pilot fueled the airplane, adding 105.2 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. How the fuel was distributed between the airplane's three fuel tanks could not be determined. The pilot then taxied the airplane to the ramp in front of the flight school hangar where he kept a toolbox. The witness stated that the pilot was working on the airplane when he noticed a fuel leak and stated that he should have "fixed that" before he fueled the airplane. Both the employee and another witness stated that fuel was leaking from the aft fuselage belly area. They stated that the pilot had two or three 5-gallon orange buckets under the airplane to catch the fuel as he worked to stop the leak. Neither witness saw how much fuel was in the buckets or what the pilot did with the fuel. One witness asked the pilot if he fixed the problem, and the pilot responded that he had. The pilot was cleared for take
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of control while returning to the airport after takeoff for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
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Browse: Florida · 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.
