Smith Ted Aerostar 601P N48MD

Summary

On 23 April 1999 at about 16:23 local time, a Smith Ted Aerostar 601P registered N48MD was involved in an accident near Ruidoso, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 April 1999 at 16:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Ruidoso, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

33.3495, -105.6800

Aircraft

Smith Ted Aerostar 601P

Registration

N48MD

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN99FA066

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control for undetermined reason. A factor was the low ceiling IMC weather condition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on runway 06 with zero degrees of flaps. A witness said that she noticed that the airplane appeared to wobble and shudder, and immediately went into a steep right bank turn right after takeoff. The airplane then went into the clouds which were 200 to 400 feet agl. Radar data indicated that the airplane made several 90 degree turns prior to impacting the mountainous terrain 2.55 nm from the departure end of the runway. The pilot normally used 20 degrees of flaps for takeoff. A test pilot said that the airplane handles significantly different during takeoff if zero degrees of flaps are used verses 20 degrees of flaps. The upper cabin's entry door was found, with the locking handle and locking pins, in the closed position. No preimpact engine or airframe anomalies, which might have affected the airplane's performance, were identified.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.