Piper AEROSTAR 600 accident near Jacksonville, Florida, March 23, 1989
On March 23, 1989 at about 3:44 am local time, a Piper AEROSTAR 600, registered N77BR, was destroyed 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). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
IMPROPER USE OF THE IFR PROCEDURE BY THE PILOT, HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A PROPER GLIDE PATH, AND HIS FAILURE TO IDENTIFY THE DECISION HEIGHT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 23, 1989 · about 3:44 am local time
- Place
- Jacksonville, Florida · Jacksonville Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper AEROSTAR 600 AEROSTAR 6 · all AEROSTAR 600s on the register
- Registration
- N77BR · registry record · serial 6007961193
- 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
DRG ARRIVAL, THE PLT WAS CLRD FOR AN ILS RWY 7 APCH. ALSO, HE WAS ADZD OF A DC-9 THAT WAS 4 MI AHEAD & WAS TOLD TO USE CAUTION FOR WAKE TURBULENCE. AS THE ACFT WAS ON FINAL APCH, IT DESCENDED BELOW THE ILS GLIDE SLOPE & SUBSEQUENTLY HIT TREES & CRASHED ABOUT 1.8 MI SHORT OF THE RWY. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENGS WAS FOUND THAT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACDNT. ALSO, THERE WERE NO REPORTED PROBLEMS WITH THE ILS SYSTEM & IT TESTED NORMAL AFTER THE ACDNT. THE PLT HELD A COMMERCIAL PLT CERTIFICATE WHICH WAS GOOD FOR SINGLE ENGINE LAND ACFT; HIS MULTI-ENGINE PRIVILEGES WERE AUTHORIZED AS A PRIVATE PLT, ONLY. AN NTSB PERFORMANCE STUDY SHOWED THE ACFT WAS 2 MIN & 57 SEC BEHIND THE DC-9. RADAR DATA INDCD THE ACFT DID NOT EXCEED A BANK ANGLE OF 32 DEG & NO EXCESSIVE G-VALUES WERE EVIDENT DRG THE APCH.
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: 2,575 hours in all; 1,250 in this make and model; 260 in the last 90 days; 93 in the last 30 days; 2,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,891 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 20, 1989; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1F5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Top Flight Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 2:08 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 7, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 040° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from JAX, 1 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.
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 MIA89FA113.