Kennesaw Georgia: Sole pilot on board killed when the TBM-700 according to witnesses, nose dived into the ground, crashing into a wooded area. Aircraft was landing at KRYY Cobb County at the time of the accident.
Family members quoted as saying the pilot had been licensed for 8 years, it was his third airplane, which he bought 6 months ago. He was returning from Vero Beach where the aircraft had just undergone a 400 hour inspection.
Wonder if everything was put back in place after that inspection? I would assume there was a test flight and everything check out ok?
keyword: assume
Exactamundo…I probably should have bolded “assume”
You’re fine. You and I can assume all we want. Hopefully the only person that matters in this case didn’t assume the same. Sad story. 
If my number was up and I got to own a sweet TBM for the last year of my life I would smirk for eternity. I mean that with full respect.
It is rumored that the pilot was requested to do S-turns on final for spacing. This is not an uncommon practice at RYY. The wreckage is about a mile from the runway. Draw your own conclusions…
a very active operation for a single runway.
Airport Operational Statistics
Aircraft based on the field: 358
Single engine airplanes: 251
Multi engine airplanes: 55
Jet airplanes: 39
Helicopters: 13
Aircraft operations: avg 475/day *
64% local general aviation
36% transient general aviation
Second busiest General Aviation airport in the state next to KPDK.
I don’t know who is at fault for this crash, but this reminds me of the inexperienced guys that will be taking controls of planes like the Eclipse 500 and the Cirrus Jet. I mean, look at all the Cirrus pilots that have bigger eyes then sense. Put them in a plane going 130 knots faster, and we have a problem folks.
If you ASSume, you make a you know what out of yourself.
Quick! Someon alert the media that the FAA is making pilots do dangerous maneuvers called “S-turns”!
Quick! Some one alert the media that the FAA is making pilots do dangerous maneuvers called “S-turns”!
The NTSB posted this preliminary today.
Witnesses at the RYY airport stated that they observed the airplane on short final for runway 9. They heard the Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower instruct the pilot to complete an “S” turn so that he could get two airplanes off the ground. The pilot of N484RJ, acknowledged the instructions and proceeded to execute the turn.
http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20080720X01084&key=1
The pilot in command has the right to decline any procedure that may put the flight in jeopardy.
Making a TBM700 do S-turns on short final is a recipe for trouble. This isn’t a C172 despite stall speeds being about the same. Witnesses say he went inverted and crashed. Sounds like a stall/spin scenario. I knew the guy and he was a wonderful, generous man with a great family and a pretty good pilot as well. He’ll be missed.
Pretty much what I was thinking. These type of airplanes are not C172s and should not be doing S-turns on final IMHO. I guess the lesson to be learned is that the pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft. Sometimes you have to tell ATC “unable.”
Granted this isn’t a 172, but I’ve done s-turns in everything from Kingairs to Hawkers before (when it was safe) in order to keep from dorking up the traffic flow at a busy airport. I wouldn’t do it at Vref, but this is as basic as not stalling your 152. Poor pilot technique and decision making will get you eventually.
While that analysis might sound cold initially, it’s absolutely correct.
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From this flight test of the TBM-700, it appears 80 knots is Vref on a short final.
http://www.lussoluxury.com/content.asp/read-16420067022301/David_Unwin_reviews_the_TBM_700.html
as PIC, he could have declined the S-turn and proceeded into a go-around.
TBM’s also have a torque roll issue that pilots have started receiving training on regarding go-arounds. There have been a handful of accidents w/ TBMs rolling over on short final.