Piper PA-60 Aerostar (Ted Smith 600) crash, Dec 31, 2000 (4 killed)
Piper PA-60 Aerostar (Ted Smith 600) accident on December 31, 2000 near Mt Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada with 4 fatalities. Cause: The pilot did...
- Date: December 31, 2000
- Aircraft: Piper PA-60 Aerostar (Ted Smith 600)
- Location: Mt Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada
- Fatalities: 4
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: The pilot did not follow the published LOC DME-B procedure, flying below the minimum safe altitude for the procedure turn and striking the terrain. The approach was flown in weather that virtually precluded a landing. The pilot's medical certificate had also expired a month earlier.
A privately owned Piper Aerostar 602P on an instrument flight from Salt Lake City to Penticton struck Okanagan Mountain while flying the LOC DME-B approach to runway 16 at Penticton in heavy snow and very low cloud. The aircraft did not answer radio calls and the wreckage was found two days later near the summit. All four people on board were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed without catching fire.