Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600 accident near Jacksonville, Florida, October 7, 1986
On October 7, 1986 at about 11:58 am local time, a Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600, registered N338NA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Intl 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 7, 1986 · about 11:58 am local time
- Place
- Jacksonville, Florida · Jacksonville Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Smith, Ted Aerostar AEROSTAR 600 AEROSTAR 6
- Registration
- N338NA · registry record · serial 600-487-158
- 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
REPORTEDLY, DURING AN ILS APPROACH TO LAND, THE PILOT DID NOT USE THE COMPANY APPROVED CHECKLIST AND LANDED WITH THE GEAR RETRACTED.
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: 3,672 hours in all; 497 in this make and model; 156 in the last 90 days; 3,471 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,837 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 6, 1986; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1J5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GNV Gainesville FL at 11:21 am
- Destination: JAX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 25, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:51 am from JAX
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.