Socata TBM 700 accident near Truckee, California, March 14, 1998
On March 14, 1998 at about 3:00 am local time, a Socata TBM 700, registered N345RD, was destroyed in an accident near Truckee, California (Truckee-Tahoe airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft due to spatial disorientation. A factor was the dark night.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 14, 1998 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Truckee, California · Truckee-Tahoe
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Socata TBM 700 · all TBM 700s on the register
- Registration
- N345RD · registry record · serial 76
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was cleared for a GPS approach. He stated that he was too high to make a good landing, so he opted for a circling approach to another runway. As he turned for the base leg, he lost visual contact and became disoriented. It was a dark night with no moon. The pilot realized that he was in a 70- to 80-degree left bank and returned the airplane to a level attitude, then noticed the ground directly in front of him. The aircraft ran through a barbed wire fence, collided with trees, and slid rearward to a stop in a high altitude meadow east of the airport. The FAA completed an evaluation of the circling approach procedures and night operations for that airport and did not find any problems.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,088 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 1,940 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,119 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 9, 1998; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,579 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-64 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: O56 Novato CA at 2:00 am
- Destination: TRK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 19, 4,650 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 010° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from TRK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.