# NTSB WPR25LA251: Socata TBM 700, N860CA, Kalispell, MT, August 11, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: August 11, 2025, 14:07 local (20:07 UTC) - Place: Kalispell, MT - Coordinates: 48.180275, -114.3059 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.1803&lon=-114.3059&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern final: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 4 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 6, 2025 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Daher, Federal Aviation Administration, Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Pratt & Whitney Canada - NTSB case key (mKey): 200769 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25LA251 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200769/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200769 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA251 ## Probable cause The pilot’s unstable approach to the runway, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at low altitude and impact with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Socata TBM 700, 21 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=8682000), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Socata TBM 700, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md?model=8682000), [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: descent/approach/glide path](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Socata TBM 700, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md?model=8682000), [All aircraft, 809 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR pattern final: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [Socata TBM 700, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=8682000), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of the airplane reported that the airplane was too high during approach to the airport, and he responded by reducing the engine power to idle. When the airplane was about 40 ft above the runway, the “airspeed” aural caution sounded, and the pilot added engine power; however, the airspeed continued to decay, and the “stall” aural warning sounded. The airplane subsequently rolled left, impacted terrain alongside the left side of the runway, caught fire, and slid into the airport apron. The pilot and passengers were able to exit the airplane through the main cabin door before the airplane was destroyed by postaccident fire. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N860CA](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N860CA), registered now, S/N 596, built 2011 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SOCATA TBM 700 - Registry model: [Socata TBM 700](https://openairdocs.org/model/socata-tbm-700) (registry code 8682000) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-66-series) (registry code 52118, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 596 - Year built: 2011 - Airframe hours: 3312 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D 850 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Operator: Decagon Services INC, doing business as Decagon Devices INC - Registered owner: Meter Sky LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 15, 2024 - Departed: PUW, Pullman, WA - Destination: Same as departure - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: S27, Kalispell City Airport, runway 13, 3,600 × 60 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 50; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review March 21, 2025; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 1,704.6 total, 1,244.9 in this make and model, 1,445.8 as pilot in command, 43 in the last 90 days, 11 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 30.06 inHg - Observed at: KGPI, 8 nm away - METAR: KGPI 111955Z 16007KT 10SM CLR 29/12 A3006 RMK AO2 SLP162 T02940117 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20250811013412A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250811013412A), Aug 11, 2025: Socata TBM 700, Kalispell, MT, Destroyed. Description of the accident: On 11 August 2025 at 15:07 local time, a TBM-850 airplane registered as [privacy data omitted], crashed during approach and… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 6, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200769. 8.6 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 2.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19227234&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=1.%206120%20Flattened_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Video from FBO (item 2, MP4, 4.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19244201&FileExtension=mp4&FileName=1.%20Video%20from%20FBO-Rel.mp4 - Adsb data (item 3, KMZ, 113 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19243709&FileExtension=kmz&FileName=5.%20ADSB%20Data-Rel.kmz - Investigation photographs (item 4, PDF, 4 pages, 3 photos, 2.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19240222&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6.%20Investigation%20Photographs-Rel.pdf 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. --- 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.