Smith, Ted Aerostar PA-600 incident near Sarasota, Florida, August 30, 1985
On August 30, 1985 at about 2:32 am local time, a Smith, Ted Aerostar PA-600, registered N47GP, suffered minor damage in an incident near Sarasota, Florida (Sarasota-Bradenton airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 incident. 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
- August 30, 1985 · about 2:32 am local time
- Place
- Sarasota, Florida · Sarasota-Bradenton · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Smith, Ted Aerostar PA-600
- Registration
- N47GP · registry record · serial 60-0040-89
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON TAKEOFF INITIAL CLIMB THE RIGHT ENGINE HYDRAULIC PUMP SHAFT FAILED AND THE PILOT DID NOT RECEIVE A POSITIVE UPLOCK. THE PILOT THEN SELECTED GEAR DOWN AND DID OBTAIN A GEAR DOWN INDICATION. ON LANDING THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. NOSE GEAR DOWN LOCKS WERE FOUND TO BE SLIGHTLY WORN.
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: 2,100 hours in all; 410 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 2,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,744 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 16, 1985; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TI0-540G1B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SRQ Sarasota FL
- Destination: TPA Tampa FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 am from SRQ
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.