Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600 accident near Oshtemo Townshp, Michigan, October 23, 1987
On October 23, 1987 at about 7:32 am local time, a Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600, registered N554AC, was destroyed in an accident near Oshtemo Townshp, Michigan (Kalamazoo airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- October 23, 1987 · about 7:32 am local time
- Place
- Oshtemo Townshp, Michigan · Kalamazoo
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600 AEROSTAR 6
- Registration
- N554AC · registry record · serial 60002960
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT CRUISE ALTITUDE (9,000 FEET) FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES WHEN THE PILOT REPORTED THE LOSS OF RIGHT ENGINE POWER. CHICAGO ARTCC REPORTED THE CLOSEST AIRPORT WAS KALAMAZOO, 28 MILES WEST. THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO DESCEND AND AT 0330:53 CHICAGO ARTCC REPORTED N554AC WAS APPROXIMATELY 6 MILES FROM KALAMAZOO AIRPORT. THE PILOT REPORTED 'MY RIGHT ENGINE COWLING IS GONE...I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GOING TO MAKE IT.' WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT AT 'TREE TOP LEVEL' AND IMPACT IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA NEAR INTERSTATE 94, 5 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED IMPROPERWELD REPAIRS TO THE RIGHT ENGINE CASE AND SEPARATION OF THE NUMBER 2 CYLINDER FROM THE CASE DUE TO FATIGUE CRACKING IN THE THROUGH BOLTS AND STUDS. THE TOP SECTION OF THE ENGINE COWLING SEPARATED DUE TO THE FORCE OF THE CYLINDER SEPARATION.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,290 hours in all; 101 in this make and model; 173 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days; 1,808 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,254 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 13, 1987; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1J5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MKE Milwaukee WI at 6:57 am
- Destination: CLV Cleveland OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:57 am from SBN, 45 miles away
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.