Loss of control Accident Ted Smith Aerostar 601P (Machen Superstar 700) N222AQ,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 71863
 
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Date:Saturday 23 January 2010
Time:18:52
Type:Silhouette image of generic AEST model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Ted Smith Aerostar 601P (Machen Superstar 700)
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N222AQ
MSN: 61P-0164-004
Year of manufacture:1974
Engine model:Lycoming 0-540 SERIES
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:Sugar Grove, Illinois -   United States of America
Phase: Initial climb
Nature:Executive
Departure airport:Aurora, IL (ARR)
Destination airport:Denver, CO (BJC)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The visibility at the time of the accident was 1/2 mile with fog and the vertical visibility was 100 feet. A witness stated that the pilot checked the weather, but that he appeared to be in a hurry and took off without performing a preflight inspection of the aircraft. After takeoff, air traffic control instructed the pilot to turn left to a heading of 270 degrees. The pilot reported to the controller that he was at 1,300 feet climbing to 3,000 feet and the controller cleared the pilot to climb to 4,000 feet; the pilot acknowledged the clearance. Witnesses on the ground noted that the airplane was loud; one witness located about 1.5 miles from the departure airport reported that the airplane flew overhead at treetop height. The airplane impacted trees and a residence about 2.3 miles north-northeast of the departure airport. The airplane's turning ground track and the challenging visibility conditions were conducive to the onset of pilot spatial disorientation. Postaccident inspection failed to reveal any mechanical failure that would have resulted in the accident. The pilot purchased the airplane about three months prior to the accident; at that time he reported having 72.6 hours of instrument flight experience and 25 hours of multi-engine experience, with none in the accident airplane make and model. After purchasing the airplane, the pilot received 52 hours of flight instruction in the accident airplane in 7 days. Logbook records were not located to establish subsequent flight experience.
Probable Cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation and subsequent failure to maintain airplane control.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN10FA108
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 5 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB
https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20100124X04040&key=1
http://web.archive.org/web/20100130194555/http://www.chicagotribune.com:80/news/local/chicago/ct-met-0124-sugar-grove-plane-crash-20100123,0,6792565.story?
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/plane-crash-route-47-sugar-grove-82528942.html
http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-5096874/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kYWlseWhlcmFsZC5jb20vc3RvcnkvP2lkPTM1MzQ1NQ==
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N222AQ
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Brenwest-Leasing-LLC/Piper-PA-60-601P-Aerostar/0613741/L (photo)

Location

Images:


Photo: NTSB

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
23-Jan-2010 21:50 slowkid Added
23-Jan-2010 22:01 slowkid Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Source]
23-Jan-2010 22:07 slowkid Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Nature, Source, Damage]
24-Jan-2010 02:59 RobertMB Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
09-Jul-2010 11:30 harro Updated [Other fatalities, Source]
21-Dec-2016 19:25 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
26-Nov-2017 15:19 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

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