Socata TBM 700 N850LM

Summary

On 10 February 2012 at about 14:29 local time, a Socata TBM 700 registered N850LM was involved in an accident near Madison, Wisconsin, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 February 2012 at 14:29

Classification

Accident

Location

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Dane County Regional (MSN)

Coordinates

43.1411, -89.3342

Aircraft

Socata TBM 700

Registration

N850LM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Madison → Fort Myers

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12LA153

3 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to ensure that ice and snow were removed from the airplane’s surfaces during the preflight inspection, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall after takeoff and loss of control of the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that moderate rime ice had accumulated on the airplane during the inbound flight to the fixed-base operator (FBO). FBO employees reported seeing 1 1/2- to 2-inch thick ice on the wings' unprotected surfaces, the left wing's radome, and the propeller spinner and around the stall indicator when the airplane arrived. The pilot removed some of the ice with his hand and declined an offer to have the airplane deiced or put it in a heated hangar. Subsequently, the airplane was parked outside at the FBO for about 1 hour, during which time it was snowing and sleeting. Witnesses reported that they did not see the pilot check the tail surfaces for ice and that, when the airplane taxied for takeoff, they saw ice on portions of the airplane, including the radome, and snow on the wings' surfaces. The pilot reported that, during takeoff, the left wing dropped and was not generating lift, likely due to the ice on the airplane's surface. The airplane veered left, impacted terrain, and then caught on fire before coming to rest. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any failure that would have resulted in the loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.