Socata TBM-850 crash, Oct 5, 2014, Fayetteville
Socata TBM-850 accident on October 5, 2014 near Fayetteville, Georgia, United States with no fatalities. Cause: NTSB: The pilot's inadvertent...
- Date: October 5, 2014
- Aircraft: Socata TBM-850
- Location: Fayetteville, Georgia, United States
- Fatalities: 0
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: NTSB: The pilot's inadvertent deactivation of the yaw damper in flight, which resulted in a prolonged sideslip condition that led to fuel starvation and the eventual total loss of engine power. Contributing was the pilot's failure to attempt to restart the engine.
On 5 October 2014 at about 1255 local time, a TBM 850 (N536EM) on a private cross country flight lost engine power at 6,000 ft after the pilot inadvertently disengaged the yaw damper, which produced a prolonged sideslip and fuel starvation. The pilot did not attempt a restart and force landed on a high school sports field near Fayetteville, Georgia, where the airplane collided with trees and the ground. Two occupants were injured, one seriously, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The NTSB found that an engine restart would have been possible once the airplane returned to coordinated flight.