# Accident 20010825039229A: Socata TB20TRINIDAD, Amherst, NH, August 25, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 25, 2001, 07:37 local time
- Place: Amherst, NH
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.8636° N, 71.6238° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Amherst, NH, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.8636&lon=-71.6238&mi=10
- Aircraft: N470SP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N470SP-2018-01-24) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Socata TB-20 TRINIDAD (registry code 8680695, https://openairdocs.org/model/socata-tb-20-trinidad) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SOCATA TB20TRINIDAD
- Reported engine: LYC IO540C4D5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,447 total, 1,354 in this make and model, 54 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD01LA100](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD01LA100) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010825039229A

## Narrative

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

(-23) N470SP DEPARTED BOIRE FIELD IN NASHUA, NH (ASH) APPROXIMATELY AT 0723 LOCAL ON 8/25/2001. RUNWAY 32 WAS USED FOR THE DEPARTURE WITH NO ABNORMALITIES REPORTED BY THE TOWER CONTROLLER ON DUTY. AT APPROXIMATELY 600 FEET AGL THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED BY THE CONTROLLER TO MAKE A TURN TO THE RIGHT RESULTING IN A NORTHERLY HEADING. APPROXIMATELY 4 MINUTES LATER THE PILOT OF N470SP CALLED NASHUA TOWER AND REQUESTED HELP WITH LOCATING THE TOWN OF AMHERST, NH. THE PILOT ASKED THE CONTROLLER IF THE TOWN WAS LOCATED IN THE GENERAL VICINITY OF A GREEN WATER TOWER THAT HE HAD SIGHTED. THE TOWER CONTROLLER SUGGESTED TO THE PILOT OF N470SP THAT HE BELIEVED THAT AMHERST WAS IN THE VICINITY OF THE WATER TOWER BUT WASN'T SURE. THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE INFO FROM THE CONTROLLER AND NO OTHER COMMUNICATION CONTACT FOLLOWED. EYEWITNESSES ON THE GROUND IN AMHERST, NH OBSERVED A SINGLE ENGINE LIGHT AIRCRAFT FLYING EXTREMELY LOW AND TRAVELING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED STARTING APPROXIMATELY AT 0728 LOCAL. THREE EYEWITNESSES LOCATED IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO HIGH MEADOW LANE OBSERVED A LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT FLYING A PATTERN CONSISTING OF LEFT TURNS AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. AN EYEWITNESS WHO RESIDES AT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT AT TREE TOP LEVEL BEHIND HER HOUSE MAKING A STEEP LEFT HAND DESCENDING TURN AT A VERY HIGH RATE OF SPEED. THE AIRCRAFT DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW BEHIND THE TREE LINE AND SHE HEARD A DISTINCT "THUMPING" SOUND FOLLOWED BY GROUND SHUDDER THAT SHOOK HER HOUSE. ANOTHER EYEWITNESS PROCEEDED TO ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED AND ARRIVED WITHIN 3 MINUTES AFTER HE LOST SIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT. UPON HIS ARRIVAL AT APPROXIMATELY 0740 HE OBSERVED THAT THE RESIDENCE WAS FULLY INVOLVED AND NOT APPROACHABLE DUE TO THE FIRE INTENSITY. THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER OF NEW HAMPSHIRE COMPLETED AN AUTOPSY AND DETERMINED THAT THE MANNER OF DEATH WAS SUICIDE CAUSED BY THE PLANE CRASH.

## 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 IAD01LA100](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD01LA100), Aug 25, 2001: Socata TB-20 (N470SP), Amherst, NH, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: Suicide, when the pilot intentionally crashed his airplane into his house.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.