Socata TBM 700 accident near Reading, Pennsylvania, December 6, 2003
On December 6, 2003 at about 9:39 am local time, a Socata TBM 700, registered N700QD, was substantially damaged in an accident near Reading, Pennsylvania (Reading Regional Airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper decision to not apply de-icing fluid to the wings prior to takeoff, which resulted in snow/ice contamination on the of the wings, a stall mush, and a forced landing in an open field.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 2003 · about 9:39 am local time
- Place
- Reading, Pennsylvania · Reading Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Socata TBM 700 · all TBM 700s on the register
- Registration
- N700QD · no longer on the register · serial 174
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane departed while it was snowing. The pilot reported that becoming airborne, the airplane, "...began to shake severely...." The pilot tried to climb; however, the airplane would not climb and it continued to settle. The pilot performed a forced landing in an field, about 3,200 feet from the departure end of the runway. The company director of operations (D/O) reported that when he examined the airplane about 45 minutes later, there was rough granular ice on the top surface of the wing that conformed to the outline of the fuel tanks. The rough granular ice was not found on the horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that he elected not to use liquid deicing fluid on the wings because the snow was blowing off of the top of the wings when the airplane was pulled from the hangar. The D/O further reported that the airplane had been refueled with 177 gallons about 2 hours prior to departure and then the airplane was placed in an unheated hangar with the door open. The fuel came from a truck that had been kept in a heated hangar.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: September 17, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,568 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 21, 2003; 68.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,614 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-64 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RDG Reading PA at 9:39 am
- Destination: OWD Norwood MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 6,350 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 020° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 300 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 9:26 am from RDG, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.