Truckee-Tahoe Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Truckee, California 95734
Friday, March 13, 1998 19:00 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft due to spatial disorientation. A factor was the dark night.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/13/1998
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City TRUCKEE
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95734
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport TRUCKEE-TAHOE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TRK
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 5900
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1850 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID TRK
Elevation of weather observation facility 5900
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 1700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 4
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1138
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 13 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1738
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 10:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N345RD
NTSB Number LAX98LA114
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Socata
Aircraft Model TBM 700
Aircraft Series Identifier TBM 700
Aircraft Serial Number 76
Certified Max Gross Weight 6579
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 9 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours 1119
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DOLBY, RAY M.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3340 JACKSON STREET
Aircraft Owner City SAN FRANCISCO
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94118
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code O56
Departure City NOVATO
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code TRK
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19
Runway Length 4650
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --