Incident
On 24 October 2003, at 1742 hours UTC, a Socata TBM 700, registration N700VA, was involved in an accident at the River Tay, Dundee, Scotland, during a private flight. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair. The pilot and three passengers sustained minor injuries.
Sequence of Events
The flight from Edinburgh was uneventful. The pilot conducted a visual approach to Runway 28 at Dundee, which has a landing distance available of 1,400 metres. During the flare, the aircraft floated down the runway and bounced lightly on touchdown. In the bounce, the aircraft initially yawed left and then rolled left while maintaining a normal pitch attitude; no stall warning was triggered. Full right rudder input was unable to correct the yaw. The pilot applied power to initiate a go-around while maintaining full right rudder, but could not prevent the left wing from striking the ground. This caused the aircraft to yaw rapidly to the left, bringing one wheel into contact with a low wall. The pilot then reduced power and ditched in the River Tay, approximately 10 metres from the shore.
Air traffic controllers reported that during the go-around the aircraft achieved a high nose attitude before the left wing dropped and the aircraft veered left.
Rescue and Evacuation
After ditching, the aircraft came to rest with the top of the fuselage above water. The pilot and passengers evacuated through the main door and stood on the wing, awaiting rescue by the airport's hovercraft. The hovercraft could only carry two passengers at a time, causing a delay that resulted in the pilot and passengers suffering from mild hypothermia.
Pilot Information
The pilot, aged 28, held a Commercial Pilot's Licence and had accumulated 3,170 flying hours, of which 65 were on the TBM 700 type. In the last 90 days, he had flown 41 hours, and in the last 28 days, 18 hours.