Piper AEROSTAR 600 accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan, December 27, 1984
On December 27, 1984 at about 3:00 am local time, a Piper AEROSTAR 600, registered N8060J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan (Kalamazoo 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
- December 27, 1984 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Kalamazoo, Michigan · Kalamazoo
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper AEROSTAR 600 AEROSTAR 6 · all AEROSTAR 600s on the register
- Registration
- N8060J · no longer on the register · serial 60-0543
- 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
THE PLT REPORTED UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE ACFT CONTACTED A PATCH OF ICE CAUSING IT TO SLIDE SIDEWAYS RESULTING IN A LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSE. ATC TWR WITNESSES STATED THE ACFT APPEARED FAST ON FINAL AND A HARD LANDING WAS MADE.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,804 hours in all; 1,224 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 2,661 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,600 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1F5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BEH Benton Harbor MI at 2:30 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:08 am from AZO
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.
Other NTSB records under N8060J the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI85LA080.