ERA10CA155

NTSB accident investigation · Socata TBM 700 · Gaithersburg, MD · March 1, 2010

Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
March 1, 2010, 17:15 local (22:15 UTC)
Place
Gaithersburg, MD
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N700ZRSocata TBM 700
Defining event
Landing-flare/touchdown: Runway excursion
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 17, 2010
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20100301029749A
Case key
75427

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while performing a go-around.

Findings · 3

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Performance/control parameters: directional controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedSocata TBM 700: 2 casesAll aircraft: 3,958 casesProbable cause
Wind: gustsEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensationSocata TBM 700: 3 casesAll aircraft: 1,199 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotSocata TBM 700: 21 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

The pilot of the single-engine turboprop was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight and cancelled his IFR flight plan after being cleared for a visual approach to the destination airport. He flew a left traffic pattern for runway 32, a 4,202-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot reported that the airplane crossed the runway threshold at 81 knots and touched down normally, with the stall warning horn sounding. The airplane subsequently drifted left and the pilot attempted to correct with right rudder input; however, the airplane continued to drift to the left side of the runway. The pilot then initiated a go-around and cognizant of risk of torque roll at low speeds did not apply full power. The airplane climbed to about 10 feet above the ground. At that time, the airplane was in a 20-degree left bank and the pilot applied full right aileron input to correct. The airplane then descended in a left turn, the pilot retarded the throttle, and braced for impact. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the airplane traveled about 100 feet off the left side of the runway, nosed down in mud, and came to rest in trees. Examination of the wreckage by the inspector did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The reported wind, about the time of the accident, was from 310 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 15 knots.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the single-engine turboprop was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight and cancelled his IFR flight plan after being cleared for a visual approach to the destination airport. He flew a left traffic pattern for runway 32, a 4,202-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot reported that the airplane crossed the runway threshold at 81 knots and touched down normally, with the stall warning horn sounding. The airplane subsequently drifted left and the pilot attempted to correct with right rudder input; however, the airplane continued to drift to the left side of the runway. The pilot then initiated a go-around and cognizant of risk of torque roll at low speeds did not apply full power. The airplane climbed to about 10 feet above the ground. At that time, the airplane was in a 20-degree left bank and the pilot applied full right aileron input to correct. The airplane then descended in a left turn, the pilot retarded the throttle, and braced for impact. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the airplane traveled about 100 feet off the left side of the runway, nosed down in mud, and came to rest in trees. Examination of the wreckage by the inspector did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The reported wind, about the time of the accident, was from 310 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 15 knots.

Aircraft

Registration
N700ZR
Reported as
Socata TBM 700
Category
Airplane
Serial number
87
Airframe hours
1,968
Engine
P&W PT6A SER, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Positioning · Part 91
Operator
Michael Rosenberg
Registered owner
Nova Aviation LLC
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · March 13, 2009 · 137 hours before
Departed
IGX · Chapel Hill, NC
Destination
GAI · Gaithersburg, MD
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
GAI · Montgomery Country Airpark, runway 32, 4,202 × 75 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
61
Injuries
None
Certificates
Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
December 4, 2009
Seat
Left
Flight hours
4,215 total · 1,240 in this make and model · 4,080 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
310° at 10 knots, gusting 15
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
4,700 ft overcast
Temperature
43 °F, dew point 25 °F
Altimeter
29.95 inHg
Observed at
GAI

Docket · 4

The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 14, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.