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| Date: | Saturday 23 January 2010 |
| Time: | 18:52 |
| Type: |  Ted Smith Aerostar 601P (Machen Superstar 700) |
| Owner/operator: | ENS Corp opb Private |
| Registration: | N222AQ |
| MSN: | 61P-0164-004 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Sugar Grove, IL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Aurora Municipal Airport, IL (ARR/KARR) |
| Broomfield-Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, CO (BJC/KBJC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On January 23, 2010, at 1852 central standard time, a Smith Aerostar 601P, N222AQ, collided with the terrain and a residence in Sugar Grove, Illinois. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Four occupants in the residence were not injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post impact fire. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The airplane departed from the Aurora Municipal Airport (ARR), Aurora, Illinois, at 1850. The destination for the flight was the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC), Denver, Colorado.
The visibility at the time of the accident was 1/2 mile with fog and the vertical visibility was 100 feet. A witness stated that the pilot checked the weather, but that he appeared to be in a hurry and took off without performing a preflight inspection of the aircraft. After takeoff, air traffic control instructed the pilot to turn left to a heading of 270 degrees. The pilot reported to the controller that he was at 1,300 feet climbing to 3,000 feet and the controller cleared the pilot to climb to 4,000 feet; the pilot acknowledged the clearance. Witnesses on the ground noted that the airplane was loud; one witness located about 1.5 miles from the departure airport reported that the airplane flew overhead at treetop height. The airplane impacted trees and a residence about 2.3 miles north-northeast of the departure airport. The airplane's turning ground track and the challenging visibility conditions were conducive to the onset of pilot spatial disorientation. Postaccident inspection failed to reveal any mechanical failure that would have resulted in the accident. The pilot purchased the airplane about three months prior to the accident; at that time he reported having 72.6 hours of instrument flight experience and 25 hours of multi-engine experience, with none in the accident airplane make and model. After purchasing the airplane, the pilot received 52 hours of flight instruction in the accident airplane in 7 days. Logbook records were not located to establish subsequent flight experience.
Probable Cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation and subsequent failure to maintain airplane control.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://web.archive.org/web/20100130194555/http://www.chicagotribune.com:80/news/local/chicago/ct-met-0124-sugar-grove-plane-crash-20100123,0,6792565.story?
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/plane-crash-route-47-sugar-grove-82528942.html
http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-5096874/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kYWlseWhlcmFsZC5jb20vc3RvcnkvP2lkPTM1MzQ1NQ==
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=75298
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N222AQ
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Brenwest-Leasing-LLC/Piper-PA-60-601P-Aerostar/0613741/L (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Jan-2010 21:50 | slowkid | Added |
| 23-Jan-2010 22:01 | slowkid | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Source, ] |
| 23-Jan-2010 22:07 | slowkid | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Nature, Source, Damage, ] |
| 24-Jan-2010 02:59 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Jul-2010 11:30 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Source, ] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 26-Nov-2017 15:19 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 06-Jul-2025 05:55 | Captain Adam | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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