Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600A accident near Charlotte, North Carolina, November 1, 1984
On November 1, 1984 at about 3:10 am local time, a Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600A, registered N90609, was substantially damaged in an accident near Charlotte, North Carolina (Douglas International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 1, 1984 · about 3:10 am local time
- Place
- Charlotte, North Carolina · Douglas International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600A AEROSTAR 6
- Registration
- N90609 · no longer on the register · serial 600320118
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING FINAL APPROACH THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO LOWER THE NOSE GEAR THEREFORE HE LANDED WITH THE NOSE GEAR RETRACTED. POST CRASH EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE NOSE STEERING ACTUATING BOLT WAS FRACTURED. THE FACTURE SURFACES EXHIBITED SIGNATURES OF A PROGRESSIVE FATIGUE FAILURE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,613 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 2,421 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,897 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 15, 1984; 71 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1F5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Top Flight Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: JAX Jacksonville FL at 1:30 am
- Destination: CHI Charlotte NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 36R, 7,845 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 9:00 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.