Smith AEROSTAR601 accident near Heber, Utah, September 25, 2018
On September 25, 2018 at about 5:00 pm local time, a 1975 Smith AEROSTAR601, registered N90339, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Heber, Utah (Heber City Municipal 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 recent hard landing resulted in a fracture of a joint from a cylinder to a main landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 2018 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Heber, Utah · Heber City Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Smith AEROSTAR601 P, built 1975 · all AEROSTAR601s on the register
- Registration
- N90339 · registry record · serial 61P-0196-015
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated he touched down normally and during the landing roll, the airplane veered left coming to rest off the runway surface. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and horizontal stabilizer. Postaccident examination of the landing gear assembly revealed that the weld had failed on the joint attached to the main landing gear cylinder and upper scissor assembly. Most of the fracture surface of the failure surface had been obliterated by smearing and grinding, consistent with post-fracture damage. The degree of the fracture surface damage was consistent with the fracture and separation happening before the accident. Landing gear components are under cyclic loads at every landing and during landing actions (such as braking or taxiing). There was no evidence of fatigue, corrosion, or other progressive mechanisms would have led to the fracture of this joint from the strut cylinder. It is likely that a recent hard landing fractured the joint from the cylinder, but it could not be determined whether this occurred during the accident landing or beforehand due to the damage incurred after the gear collapsed.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main gear strut/axle/truck › Failure
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,887 hours in all; 1,828 in this make and model
- Last flight review: October 6, 2017
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,069.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 9, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming IO-540-AA1A5 (piston); 340 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming IO-540-AA1A5 (piston); 340 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BMC Brigham City UT at 4:30 pm
- Destination: HCR Heber UT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 6,898 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.26 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 pm from K36U
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on January 27, 2022. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Materials Laboratory Factual Report | PDF, 20 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Record of Conversation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Pictures of Failure | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.