ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 36690
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| Date: | Sunday 20 September 1998 |
| Time: | 14:31 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-60-600 Aerostar |
| Owner/operator: | private |
| Registration: | N17MT |
| MSN: | 60-0641-796120 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3413 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-K1J5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | North Myrtle Beach, SC -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Grand Strand Airport, SC (KCRE) |
| Donegal Springs Airpark, PA (N71) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
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.
After takeoff while over the departure end of the runway, deep gray colored smoke was observed by the tower controller trailing the right engine. The pilot was alerted of this and advised the controller the flight was returning. Witnesses reported seeing smoke trailing the right engine and that the airplane rolled to the left, pitched nose down, impacted trees, and then the ground. The pilot, his three passengers and one person on the ground were killed. A fatigue crack was detected in the exhaust aft of the No. 6 cylinder of the right engine; and incomplete fusion of a weld repair was also noted. Heat damaged components from the right engine were replaced and the engine was started and found to operate normally. A foreign object of undetermined origin was found in the intake area of the No. 3 cylinder. Analysis of the voice tape revealed both engines/propellers were operating near full rated rpm when the pilot acknowledged the transmission that smoke was trailing the right engine, one engine/propeller rpm then decreased to about 2,160 rpm. Examination of the flight controls revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. Flap positions at impact could not be determined. Calculations indicate that the airplane was approximately 55 pounds over the maximum certificated takeoff weight at takeoff.
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.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001211X11124
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 01-Dec-2018 11:01 | Anon. | Updated [Departure airport] |
| 02-Jan-2019 13:43 | liamdaniel98 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 13-Oct-2022 10:55 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
| 13-Oct-2022 10:56 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
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