On April 26, 2013, an EADS Socata TBM 700 B was involved in an aviation accident near Bötersen, DE. This summary draws on records from the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU).
On 26 April 2013, an EADS Socata TBM 700 B crashed into the ground near Rotenburg (Wümme), Germany, killing all four people on board. The aircraft was destroyed and caused crop damage.
Accident overview and flight details On 26 April 2013, an EADS Socata TBM 700 B aircraft crashed into the ground near Rotenburg (Wümme), Germany, resulting in the deaths of all four occupants. The aircraft was destroyed, and crop damage was reported. The flight had been initiated under instrument flight rules (IFR) from Kiel-Holtenau (EDHK) and was transitioning to visual flight rules (VFR) for the approach to Rotenburg (Wümme) (EDXQ). The aircraft collided with the terrain during the approach and subsequently caught fire. ## Flight plan and crew The aircraft was operated by a commercial owner and was chartered, with a freelance pilot provided as needed. The flight was intended to pick up two additional passengers at Rotenburg (Wümme) before continuing to Friedrichshafen (EDNY) to attend an air show. A landing slot at Friedrichshafen had been approved for 10:40 to 11:00 local time. Bremen Airport (EDDW) was listed as the alternate in the flight plan for the leg to Rotenburg (Wümme). The left-seat pilot was a 61-year-old male holding an EU private pilot licence (PPL(A)) with instrument ratings and type ratings for the TBM, multi-engine, and single-engine categories. He was the owner of the aircraft. The right-seat pilot was a 49-year-old male holding a commercial pilot licence (CPL(A)) with instrument ratings and type ratings for several aircraft, including the TBM 700. He was a freelance pilot and a crew resource management trainer. Both pilots had 68 flights together in varying roles. ## Approach and final moments Radar data recorded the flight from 08:49:52 to 09:16:27 local time. The aircraft was handed over to Bremen Radar control at 08:50:02 and received clearance to climb to flight level 100. At 09:06:02, the controller cleared the aircraft to descend to flight level 70, and at 09:08:41, it was instructed to descend to 4,000 feet on QNH 1011 and turn right 10 degrees. At 09:11:11, a pilot reported passing flight level 50 and descending to 4,000 feet, five miles final for Rotenburg runway 08. At 09:12:03, the pilot announced the cancellation of IFR, and the controller confirmed the IFR portion was cancelled at 09:12:07. A witness reported that the right-seat occupant had contacted the destination airfield on the information frequency, at which point the aircraft was approximately 8 nautical miles north of the destination at around 4,000 feet AMSL on a heading of 210 degrees. The pilot was informed that visibility at the airfield was about 2 km and the cloud base was at 500 feet. Radar showed the descent continued to 1,400 feet AMSL, and at 09:14:57, a left turn onto the final approach course of approximately 090 degrees was completed without further altitude loss. From 09:15:07, the aircraft began a continuous descent on a heading of 090 degrees. The last radar target was recorded at 09:16:27 at 100 feet AMSL. ## Crash site and weather The aircraft struck the ground 1.24 nautical miles short of the threshold of runway 08 and approximately 570 meters to the left of the approach centerline. The last radar position was nearly identical to the crash site. A waiting passenger at the airfield reported that after the pilot's last transmission, he went to a balcony to look and listen for the aircraft but could neither see nor hear it. The airfield traffic controller also stated that the aircraft was not visible or audible at the time of the last transmission. Weather information indicated that no individual weather briefing had been obtained from the German Weather Service (DWD) for the flight. The GAFOR forecast for the area described a cold front with broken to overcast cloud layers, rain or drizzle, and stratus clouds at 400 to 900 feet AGL with visibility of 2 to 4 km. The area was classified as having marginal visual flight conditions (MIKE 8) from 07:00 to 09:00 and no visual flight conditions (XRAY) from 08:00 to 10:00. A satellite image at 09:00 showed a compact cloud cover from Bremen over Rotenburg (Wümme) to Hamburg. At 09:20, the Bremen flight weather office reported visibility of 2 km and broken cloud at 200 feet, with a pilot report indicating another broken cloud layer at 400 feet AMSL and light precipitation. An AMDAR report from a Hamburg-departing aircraft indicated an inversion at approximately 3,000 feet AMSL, with a very moist boundary layer, low stratus, and local fog below, and likely compact cloud above 3,000 feet up to flight level 100 and higher.