# Accident 19971210038129A: Socata TB20TRINIDAD, Roanoke, VA, December 10, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 10, 1997, 13:24 local time
- Place: Roanoke, VA
- Airport: Roanoke Regional/Woodrum Field
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.2710° N, 79.9414° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Roanoke, VA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.2710&lon=-79.9414&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3041J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3041J-2018-01-17) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Socata TB-20 TRINIDAD (registry code 8680695, https://openairdocs.org/model/socata-tb-20-trinidad) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SOCATA TB20TRINIDAD
- Reported engine: LYC IO540C4D5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 500 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD98FA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA015) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971210038129A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

DEPARTED IRF. REPORTED ENGINE PROBLEMS. CLEARED RETURN. LOST CONTROL. HIT WIRES AND HOUSES AND BURNED. (.4) SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE WAS LOSING POWER AND THAT HE WAS RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT. THE CONTROLLER ADVISED THE PILOT THAT HE WAS 1 3/4 MILES SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT, AND HE SHOULD MAKE A LEFT TURN AND RETURN FOR A LANDING ON RUNWAY 33. THERE WERE NO FURTHER RADIO TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE PILOT. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK POWER LINES ABOUT 25 FEET HIGH, STRUCK A HOUSE, AND THEN CAME TO REST ON THE PORCH OF ANOTHER HOUSE. THE SECOND HOUSE AND AIRPLANE WERE DESTROYED AS A RESULT OF THE COLLISION AND A POST-IMPACT FIRE.  A WITNESS, ABOUT 1 1/4 MILES FROM RUNWAY 33, SAID HE HEARD AN AIRPLANE TAKING OFF.  HE SAID, '... THE ENGINE NOISE WAS BOTH LOUD AND DIFFERENT, I LOOKED TOWARD THE AIRPORT, BUT THE PLANE WAS ALREADY INTO THE OVERCAST-600 FOOT CEILING.  THE ENGINE NOISE WAS UNIQUE, IT HAD A LOUD BEAT, LIKE ONE CYLINDER WAS FIRING DIRECTLY OUT THE EXHAUST...WHEN THE PLANE HAD PASSED ME, FROM MY RIGHT TO LEFT ABOUT THE 10 O'CLOCK POSITION THE ENGINE SKIPPED ONE BEAT, MADE A LOUDER BANG AND WENT SILENT... .'  EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY EVIDEN CE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION THAT WOULD HAVE PRECLUDED OPERATION.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB IAD98FA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD98FA015), Dec 10, 1997: Socata TB-20 Trinidad (N3041J), Roanoke, VA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A related factor was the low ceiling.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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