Aerostar 601 accident near Hamilton, Montana, December 30, 2004
On December 30, 2004 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Aerostar 601, registered N601DF, was destroyed in an accident near Hamilton, Montana (Ravalli Country Airport). It was a personal flight 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
A partial loss of engine power due to the lack of lubrication and subsequent failure of the left engine's right turbocharger for undetermined reasons, and subsequent forced landing after takeoff. A factor was the unsuitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 30, 2004 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Hamilton, Montana · Ravalli Country Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerostar 601
- Registration
- N601DF · registry record · serial 00014
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Immediately after taking off and raising the landing gear, the pilot noticed the left engine began to lose power. The airplane subsequently veered to the left before impacting up slopping terrain in a left wing low attitude, resulting in a fire breaking out which consumed the left side of the airplane. A postaccident examination revealed that the left engine had sustained thermal but no impact damage, and that the engine's right hand turbocharger had no thermal or impact damage. A further examination indicated that no restrictions were found in the center section of the turbocharger and there was no damage to the housing or the impeller; however, the impeller was frozen in the center section and would not turn. Indications of grooving and scraping from a lack of lubrication to the bearings and drive shaft was observed. No mechanical anomalies with the aircraft were noted by the pilot prior to takeoff which would have prevented normal operations.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,409 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 13,409 as pilot in command; 129 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 28, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,289.6 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 27, 2004; 6.7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: KHMM Hamilton MT at 8:00 pm
- Destination: 32S Stevensville MT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 4,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.62 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from KMSO, 47 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.