Pilot Reported Airplane Was In A Spin Before Impacting A Lake And Sinking

The NTSB has issued a preliminary report from an accident which occurred March 22 that resulted in the fatal injury of five people onboard a TBM700 airplane. The aircraft remains in about 70 feet of water in a Colorado lake.

According to the report, at about 1416 mountain daylight time, a Socata TBM 700, N702H, impacted the Ridgway Reservoir, Ridgway, Colorado. The airplane came to rest in about 70 feet of water. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The aircraft was registered to Gadsden Aviation LLC and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the destination airport. The flight was operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from the Bartlesville Municipal Airport (KBVO), Bartlesville, Oklahoma, about 1100. The intended destination was the Montrose Regional Airport (KMTJ), Montrose, Colorado.

The flight was cleared for the area navigation (RNAV) Runway 35 approach into KMTJ via the YARUB initial approach fix. Shortly afterward, the pilot advised the air traffic controller that the airplane was in a spin and that he was trying to recover. Radar contact and radio communications were subsequently lost. After being notified by air traffic control, the local authorities located the airplane in the Ridgway Reservoir.

Weather conditions recorded by the KMTJ Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), located about 19 miles north-northwest of the accident site, at 1353, were: wind from 210 degrees at 9 knots; few clouds at 1,500 feet above ground level (agl), broken clouds at 3,000 feet agl, overcast clouds at 3,900 feet agl; 10 miles visibility with light rain; temperature 5 degrees Celsius; dew point 2 degrees Celsius; and altimeter 30.10 inches of mercury.

A postaccident examination will be conducted once the airplane is recovered from the reservoir.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov