NTSB Preliminary Report N960LP Truckee CA. 

Truckee pilots: when in poor weather divert to Reno and live.

The crash was actually triggered about 10 nm from the airport when the pilot decided to attempt the landing in conditions that called for a diversion. That decision killed him and his wife. Tragic.

In the words of that famous aeronautical decision making master, Mr. Myagi. The best way to win a fight? Not be there. Wrong airport decision at the wrong time.

As a pilot who operates mostly out of OAK (North field, Cessnas), I see some of the big twins and turboprops and private jets that are sometimes headed to Truckee, and I can tell ya, the rich clientele that sit in the passenger seats can be seen sometimes in the FBO's stamping their feet because the pilot is concerned about weather. A lot of pressure gets put on basically starving pilots to achieve mission success, and that means they have to decide whether to disappoint a rich client or risk dicey weather. It's really not fair, and add in the doctors and lawyers and tech broswho have their own planes and vacation homes in Tahoe and relatively low time-in-type for IFR conditions and you have the recipe for the string of disasters that have happened there of late. Truckee is a relatively difficult airport MOST OF THE TIME, EVEN IN VFR CONDITIONS. I think it may be time for the FAA to step in and review the instrument approaches and make some kind of adjustments to minimums, especially on the RNAV approaches, to get pilots to think more conservatively, and to give paid pilots more breathing room to refuse flights into marginal conditions up there. Thoughts? See @hifiandrew's comment below!

One possibility, IMO, is the pilot(s) forgot about setting the missed approach altitude of 12000' for GRIOT after they started the approach at AWEGA. If they had pre-selected the minimum altitude(s) of 7200' at YAKYU , or maybe even 6480' at WINUB and did not change to the missed approach altitude, then when they went missed and engaged the Altitude Hold / LNAV function, the AP would try to bring them back to the lower altitude selected. This can cause an anxious moment as you try to figure out what is happening and may explain all the button pushing shortly after going missed.......and with a heavy work load already in the cockpit this may have caused momentary spatial disorientation and loss of control.

I like how you added the autopilot entries to the Google Earth view. Really helps to understand what pilot was doing.

I took the boss in there ONCE in an MU-2 in high broken clouds After landing I told him we would never go there at night or in low weather. He didn't like it but I didn't care (and this was after a full airline career of low weather flying on my part!)

Gonna say it louder for the people in the back... Low time PPL/CPL's with money to spend *do not belong* in high performance turbine singles or piston twins by themselves. Throw in little time on type and some bad weather/icing/terrain and you are literally putting the nails in your own coffin. If you're going to go get yourself a shiny new TBM/PC-12/Meridian/Conquest, you can afford to have a safety pilot (someone who knows the plane, not your kid).

As Captain Vanderburgh in 'Children of the Magenta' talk said "automation dependent pilots allowed their airplanes to get much closer to the edge of the envelope than they should have" -1997. Some things haven't changed.

Great video as always. For those who aren’t familiar with the area, snowing in this area is different from almost everywhere, so “heavy snow” here means something different. They even have a name for it; it’s called sierra cement because it’s so thick and wet. It’s not always like that, but it can be insane!

I can't keep my pickup truck driving straight when I turn on the radio. Flying in a dark snowstorm and trying to set the auto pilot , recipe for spatial disorientation.

Was friends of these two amazing people. Thank you for your information for those of us trying to decipher and learn more about what happened.

Part 135 doesn’t allow an approach to be begun if the weather is below minimums. That is a hint

In the old days we called the V-35 Bonanza "doctor killers". It has been fairly simple that certain professions allow pilots the luxury of buying complex high performance airplanes. It is an airplane's demands exceeding pilot experience, skill and judgement. Today, add-in the technology, systems and automation. Pilots become too dependent on automation, and with the popularity of single engine jetprops, things happen much faster than in a Bonanza. Now add-in pressurization systems, managing the glass cockpit, and knowing how to be a manager of automation. Task saturation happens quickly. These pilots may believe that risk stacking is OK because they perceive they have an all-weather airplane (it is never "all-weather"). Now the modern high performance airplane is killing Silicon Valley executives, lawyers, real estate investors, etc.. "Son, you're writing checks your body can't ca$h!"

Learning from previous incidents can and does save lives. Especially for these young Aviators that we need so badly in every aspect. ❤

All of my stressful experiences flying were due to weather conditions. I now let the professionals like Juan who have better equipment, experience and training manage my air travel.

Hey Juan, a few years ago you did a video about N690LS which crashed in WI. Yesterday, May 5, its sister plane N690BM crashed just a few miles from my house in VA. Two souls on board, neither survived. Not sure how to send you a link to the news story, but thought you might be interested to know if you haven’t heard yet. Thanks for the great vids you make, keep up the excellent work!

That is a lot of aircraft to handle and especially under these conditions. Be interesting to hear what the TBM pilot Steve1kinevo in FL could add to this review. This plane is his wheelhouse. Thank you for the report sir...Hope Syndey is treating you well...Cheers&smiles to you.

Each one of these stories has at its heart a human story. A couple, who should have been spending the rest of their lives together, tragically died together. And in their last moments they knew this would be so.

I've skimmed a few dozen replies and haven't seen anyone notice that the gear was down at impact. So, either he really was trying to circle, which would be amazingly stupid in those conditions. Or. he wasn't ready for the missed approach and really screwed it up. ( missed approach altitude not set before FAF) As a pilot for a large fractional, I've been into Truckee dozens of times. Not my favorite place but not nearly the worst. In any event, a missed approach is the least practiced event in flying. In the sim, it's the thing I most want to do because it is so difficult to accomplish safely. Team work is essential. There is a"script" to follow and it must be followed correctly. I've got years of single pilot IFR 135 experience in piston twins and turbo props. I'd almost rather do a missed approach by myself. Counting on the other person to do what they are supposed to do WHEN they are supposed to do it, creates a a goat rope. Husband and wife pilots? Um, no thank you.

The TBM WILL BITE. A neighborhood girl friend dad had tbm 700 sold it years ago....sold it to a tech Guy Ironically And I believe it was a US air pilot flying it And they crashed and killed all on board up in Virginia in bad weather. N700pp. It was her father's initials Which I don't wanna put his name up Online. Rip

The TBM is a nice aircraft, thanks for the video. Condolences to the family.

I have never wanted to fly a plane. After getting a small glimpse at what is required to safely fly such a craft, I really never want to fly a plane.

Unfortunately... more amateurs finding out the hard way that their complex high-power plane does not give them superpowers. Very sad, RIP and thanks again Juan.

Some of you might be surprised how infrequently people execute a missed approach after they get their rating. You have to have briefed it way back before intercepting the approach and have all your actions ready to go when you get to DH/MAP. "Go and see" is fine for Part 91, but there's a reason why airlines don't allow it. If it's below minimums (or your personal minimums), just divert. No plan is worth dying for.

That string of button pushing really seems to indicate a high-stress level and potential task saturation. That's what I do on my computer when I can't get anything to work and need the dang printer to just print -- getting into that position on an aircraft with lives on the line. Excellent coverage, sir.

Thanks Juan. We appreciate what you do.

Icing over the Sierras can be deadly. Lots of planes have turned into lawn darts, even when FIKI equipped.

Not sure who I'm scared of flying with more, doctors or tech bros. RIP to the souls onboard.

I had friends skiing that day a few miles away at Palisades. They reported freezing fog/rain - enough that keeping goggles clear was a problem. When this happens the freeze zone is often a layer close to the ground as the storm pushes over Donner Summit and descends into the Truckee basin. So it's possible the pilot(s) didn't experience icing until the last minute or two of the descent.

Thank you for your videos ! Just a precision : the pilot might actually have selected the go around altitude during the approach. But the ALT HOLD mode automatically changes the selected altitude to the actual aircraft altitude when the mode is engaged. That would have canceled the preselection of the go around altitude. Keep up the good work and thanks again !

Understanding these autopilots i think is something we dont train enough, I learned to fly in a 152/72 with a sixpack back in 98. When i transitioned to a Cirrus 20 years later i had a difficult time with the glass then the electronics. Now I can use the autopilot like a second pilot, but it takes practice and studying on your own. Think about all our recurring training, its maneuvers, emergencies, and hand flying. Dont really train a gotcha like bugging the missed approach altitude. The logic of these sophisticated auto pilots are tough to learn. That sinking feeling when the plane does something you weren't expecting is no joke, never mind in imc close to the ground

Thanx Juan good break down ! I’ve seen this scenario over and over again thru the years ! Just enough flight time to be dangerous!

TRK is a very challenging airport, especially if you have have never been there before.

Sad. I remember in my training being taught to avoid ice like the plague. I didn't have a lot of fancy avionics, but I'm still here. On a bad day I'd just wait for a better time. I still do.

5/7/24..Juan you do a great job acquiring the numerous analyticsl data from several sources. Displaying Google Earth with that 'Ribbon' flight path combined with your reading the NTSB's minute-by-minute instrument output & your pointing to key points during the last few minutes of the attempted 'circle -back' for landing...in near 0 visibility with ICE ...man-oh-man...the pilots fixiation with 'gotta land here', their home airport, was sooo overpowering that he just could not accept a more safe activity by flying to an alternate, Tower OPEN, VASI operational, ILS or RNav available airport near by...which would have been...inconvienient. Juan glad you do these accident investigations not only explaining the complex instrument issues, weather factors...but you also lightly touch on the professional career background which might explain from post accident point of view, why t pilot refused to accept the difficulties all around him, Ice, no visibility, density altitude & other drivers ( kids birthday?, visitors comming?etc) which becomes additive to your 'Swiss Cheese' analogy & that human inpatients of 'I just gotta keep on...' until its too late. Horrible tragedy for this couple with beautiful family. Prayers to them & thru you Juan by doing this investigative work you can encourage all others viewing, if situation is not safe, stop & go to your alternate no matter the missed appointments...you can always do a late get together on the ground later. Then with a beer in hand tell all about that ugly aporoach & dangerous weather. Good job ..again Juan!✅️👍A+😊

Thank you for the comprehensive break-down. This tragedy is similar too many in the Sierra's, over the years. Rest in Peace to the victims.

Seems like there has been a spate of GA crashes of people flying into IMC conditions below minimums and thinking they will make it in. Condolences to the children of this couple.

As parents, we always want our kids to be safe. What about us? Are we taking reasonable precautions so that we don't needlessly leave them too early? Live and enjoy life, take some risks, but don't needlessly "stack the odds against you". Also, get regularly checked at the doctors. My condolences to the family, especially the kids.

We all make these type of mental mistakes every day. You have to train so complacency or overconfidence doesn’t have you do it when you’re flying.

Always enjoy your videos and explanation. Thanks Juan

Another thought that occurred to me Juan is that at that time (after sunset) he probably still had some visual reference looking westbound but once he turned 180 degrees and headed east bound the sky would have been completely dark. Possibly that contributed to loss of control.

Thank you for posting Juan.

The winter snow and storms in Truckee are brutal.

Thanks, Juan. Take care, and keep safe.

It’s interesting that the approach plate published track track to the FAF was 181 degrees but from FAF to the VDP the published track was 182 degrees. The ADS-B track was indeed left of the course and left of Rwy 18.

Thank you Juan for another professional grade review.

Insightful as always, Juan. Many thanks for the clarity you bring to these situations.

Thx for getting this info to us.

I didn’t catch it, was the ATIS reporting at the time icing elevations and visibility over the airport. BTW, I saw a number of comments here. Adiabatic cooling on the wings decreases icing at higher elevations because moisture goes down and temperature goes down, it increases icing at lower elevations. It’s necessary to either get above the weather or get below the speed corrected temperature at which icing occurs, for them it would mean fly to the SW and look for an airport at a lower altitude. I think this was a bad deal all around. The best choice was not to fly in the vicinity of Truckee, either stay above the weather and land SW (risky), to land well before the weather (safe), or delay flight (safest).

ty, jb...they made some mistakes and didn't know what to do, tragic

I appreciate what you do!

Good report. I've flow into Truckee dozens of times, almost always VFR. This is not a place to challenge hard IMC/IFR. Reasonable personal mins would have saved this guy. The buttonology suggests at minimum lack of proficiency or at maximum, unfamiliarity. I can only imagine the cockpit dialogue and stress. What's interesting is the terrain corridor where he went down is the low terrain in the area, should he been able to maintain flight. For me, this type of approach takes very professional training and currency/sharpness. Sad story. RIP.

Truly regrettable. RIP to the lost souls. Despite his flying the new plane often, he didn't seem experienced enough switching between levels of automation. You must select the appropriate level but always fly the airplane! As you say, he painted himself into a corner, the corner of Kablamogenesis.

Not sure what he was doing with autopilot. All my flight hours are on Garmin G3X with 650/750 GPS. I think the TBM carries the G3000 suite. If system is similar to the 650/750 GPS the missed approach procedure will automatically be loaded when you load the approach. All he had to do was activate the missed approach and the plane would've done everything for him. Blows my mind why he's messing with the autopilot the way he was.

A humble advice; I think when you are IMC and executing a missed approach, it it’s preferable to conduct that first portion of the missed approach manually instead of trying to get the autopilot to do it for you. Fly the airplane first, get skilled in that, make a turn to a heading, climb speed and then when you’re clear off the ground, connect the autopilot and on the FMS a direct TO.

Thank you very much for the Update! - Yes, some slices of the Swiss Cheese come insight with this Preliminary Report but we still have to wait for more to be able to see the whole Picture.

I just left simcoms TBM850 course and I flew this approach in the SIM. It's a wild approach, add icing and an autopilot and you've got trouble...

Turning the autopilot off and on like that might have confused him in to thinking it was on when it was actually off? by the time he realized it it might have been too late. RIP.

Another true work of art. Thanks for sharing, Tom.

I don't understand even attempting to land in that weather, just divert

Possible scenario. As he was on his missed approach and crosshing back over runway 11 on a northerly heading. He visiually picked up runway 11 out the left side, clicked the autopilot off, and started a left turn back towards runway 11. Turning steeply to try to keep the runway in site, stalled, with the resulting outcome. Like most accidents, this one is not attributable to just one thing, but a series of errors, that snowball into a bleak outcome. My thoughts are with the family. Fly Safe.

Having no personal mins is a killer in GA. This guy was behind the plane and had confusion about automation. Being a pilot is not about that butter landing but about the critical decisions you make to ensure the safety of flight and it starts on the ground before getting to the airport.

So sad , I can't imagine being bright enough to fly an aircraft, and can surely relate to being overwhelmed and overcome, if not on the top of your game : (

Nothing beats stuck and rudder training.....i did my basic Naval Air Training in a T-28.....you had to use the Dual ADF needles to maintain positional awareness in IMC.....best training i ever had......used that as a backup throughout my career even when flying new equipment with Gee-Wiz tech like the 747-400......(never really trusted all that cr*p)

As an instructor on a high performance, complex aircraft very similar to this, i see a lot of "double pressing" of the automation buttons (not confirming which mode ACTUALLY engages on the FMA) which leads many pilots to fall behind the airplane and the program. Condolences to thise sweet boys, so terrible.

Looking at that track and speeds, while stall in icing could certainly be possible I wonder if they didn’t see runway 11 on the go around and thought he could just do a quick (and unplanned) circle. Banks hard and either becomes disoriented (everything white for a couple of seconds) when he loses the runway in the fast turn. Sad case of not sticking to a plan. Juan, as usual priceless content that will hopefully keep me making good decisions. Smooth rides and tailwinds!

Thank you, RB, Nova Scotia.

Another sad report mate,thanks for presenting it,safe flights,🙏🙏👏👏👍🇦🇺

Do approach bans apply to private aircraft in the USA (Canadian pilot here)? Seems like vis was lower than plate published vis. Runway not aligned with approach, ceiling very near minimums. Not super nice weather for sure. If attempting to do such an approach probably should brief and really know what missed approach procedure because it would be likely to need it. Much practice in flying approaches for most pilots but very little in doing missed approaches. Expectation bias of "making it in" can really throw you for a loop. I know from my own recurrent sims that its very easy to get bitten in this phase of a flight.

I also appreciate you doing these reports and very happy you can do so without all the personal drama so many other folks seem to be consumed with nowadays. I think you know what I mean.

The technology available is absolutely amazing, to be able to tell what mode and what’s being selected is just so vital to these type of investigations. We can only wonder what was going on in the cockpit with all of the auto pilot on auto pilot off button pushing100% correct about painting yourself into a corner. Great breakdown as usual.

Of course, RIP to those lost, but can we take a second and admire that plane? GOD that was a sick plane...they had FANATIC taste.

Amazing review !! Can't believe how some pilots set themselves up for failure, so sad !!

Old Saw: Some people have more money than brains....one could substitute common sense for brains. Likely go down as a classic: Get Home Itis. When I was in pilot training in NH I remember every winter folks falling for get home itis in the winter and wound up as iced up "Lawn Darts".

Thanks again for a solid report.

Thank you Juan.

My thoughts are with their family and loved ones.Rest in Peace

Thank you for the update. Greetings from good old Germany 🇩🇪

Im not suprised. A similar accident happened in a TBM in icing years back. Caused it was bad they had a in flight break up though ejecting all 5 passenger and the family dog. Then plunging into the highway damaging multiple vehicles.

Autopilot off just after crossing 11 makes me wonder if they saw it and were attempting to circle left to land but stalled in the turn - maybe due to ice changing the stall characteristics.

Seems like a case of complacency and GetThereItis

Thank you Captain!

There are Old Pilots and there are Bold Pilots. Stacking the odds against yourself is a good metapher.

Well it seems these wealthy owners were like so many others over the last 50+ years that got an airplane beyond their abilities. I never would have started into that field in such weather!! Clearly they had great confidence their fancy hot rod could handle it. So very wrong!! Thanks Juan!!💟

A great description and analysis of the events leading up to the crash. We'll have to wait for the final report for what the probable cause was, but from Juan's description it certainly looks like the PIC painted him/herself into a corner given the conditions at the time and should not have attempted this landing. While not a pilot myself (have taken lessons, but that's it), I've have flown with a number of GA pilots and unfortunately have found the majority of them cut corners, and have been been on a couple of flights where near misses happened (needless to say, have not flown with those pilots again). After these experiences, I will only fly with GA pilots who I've observed following procedures to a "T" and not cutting corners. For complex aircraft like the TBM, I'm wondering out loud if these type of aircraft should be reserved for the professionals and not flown by weekend warriors that don't have the time to become fully proficient in them.

Nice alaysis as always Juan, sad accident that did not have to happen......

Thank you for yet another informative video. Secondly there was an accident report (flight into a lake) released in my country where they used a recording from one of the passengers made pre crash to estimate rpm of the engine via spectrogram, is this something that is commonly use in situation like this?

I wonder with them both being pilots if they had differing opinions on what to do hence the On/off Autopilot, we'll never know but not sure if anyone thought of that.

Great report

Much better to want the skill and have to find the money to train or create a novel way of training/practice/simulation than to have the money and not really train. This includes scenario planning, if then rehearsal, exclusive of time in a cockpit I imagine. Flying only improves your life if you live. There are so many ways to improve skills and decision making. It looks like these pilots didn't have enough skill practice time to make certain decisions and/or procedures automatic. In any endeavor that creates clunky performance. The "stacking the odds" against you problems is very common is preventable failures where better planning, creating a few possible failure scenarios beforehand and what to do if they come to fruition, these things play out over and over again in many crashes. Practice, simulation, using checklists, having alternatives and the mental flexibility to use those alternatives. These actions are so critical.

Flight Radar 24 also must be getting more than we know because some aircraft readouts transmit crosswind and outside air temp and more.

Interesting as always

Pilots need Courage, Coordination and Cash. Cash cant save you more than courage and coordination. I had 11 emergencies as commercial pilot. Not too much cash in pockets.. No accidents.

Will you be doing a lake Oroville video? Is it going to spill over? Thank you for all that you do 👍🏽

Thank you Juan. Any update on TBM 850 N228CH at Raleigh Durham?

i never ever fly in bad weather. if it looks bad at my destination i divert. i fly a1972 aero commander shirke with a full glass panel. i also never fly in ice or snow. even tho the commander has deice as do my other planes. never overestimate your abilities or your planes abilities. get ya killed everytime also i never fly in the winter. planes are just fine in their heated hangers i can always drive the motorhome or stay home and go another time

It's ironic that this plane apparently was equipped with the HomeSafe(TM) autoland system. Theoretically all they had to do was push the big orange button, sit back and relax.

A missed approach requiring a 180 climbing turn? Is that normal? Seems like something going wrong could turn that into one of the first Swiss cheese slices.

Good to see HRRR model soundings being utilised for these. Total inertial speed is a new one on me though, are you familiar with that metric?