Piper PA-60 Aerostar (Ted Smith 600) crash, Sep 20, 1998 (5 killed)
Piper PA-60 Aerostar (Ted Smith 600) accident on September 20, 1998 near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States with 5 fatalities. Cause:...
- Date: September 20, 1998
- Aircraft: Piper PA-60 Aerostar (Ted Smith 600)
- Location: North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States
- Fatalities: 5
- Phase of flight: Approach and landing
- Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain single-engine approach speed (Vs), resulting in an inadvertent stall, with a right-engine exhaust fatigue crack, overweight takeoff, degraded performance and diverted attention as factors.
A Piper Aerostar departing North Myrtle Beach on a private flight trailed smoke from its right engine and turned back. It rolled left, pitched nose down and hit trees and the ground while the engine was producing reduced power. Investigators found a fatigue crack in the right engine exhaust and calculated the aircraft was about 55 pounds over its maximum takeoff weight. Five people died, including one on the ground who died later.