Smith AEROSTAR 601P N602BV

Summary

On 24 March 2012 at about 15:30 local time, a Smith AEROSTAR 601P registered N602BV, operated by Louis F. Fabre, was involved in an accident near Casterville, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 March 2012 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Casterville, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Casterville Municipal Airport (CBV)

Coordinates

29.3405, -98.8701

Aircraft

Smith AEROSTAR 601P

Registration

N602BV

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Louis F. Fabre

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Arcola → Casterville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12CA202

Nobody was injured.

The pilot did not maintain control of the airplane while circling to land.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot flew a global positioning system approach and, though he was able to see the runway upon reaching the missed approach point, he stated that he was not able to land the airplane. He then decided to circle to land with full flaps while maintaining an airspeed of 140 mph. The airplane entered an “unusually high” sink rate during the turn; the pilot added full power and leveled the wings, but the airplane continued to descend. The airplane impacted the ground off the end of and to the right of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.