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LAX92LA359 · TBM, SA TBM 700

22 Aug 1992 · SO. LAKE TAHOE, CA, United States

TBM, SA TBM 700 · Accident: loss of control on ground/water during landing

From Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) to Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL)

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Event

NTSB case
LAX92LA359
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

TBM, SA TBM 700

Aircraft type
TBM 700
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N339W
Operator
Walt K. Weissman · private individual
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), MONTERY, CATo Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL), SO. LAKE TAHOE, CA
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Landing · flare/touchdown
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Loss of control on ground/water
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Cause areas

  • Copilot/second pilot › Compensation for wind conditions, inadequate
  • Directional control › Not maintained
  • Pilot in command › Supervision, inadequate

Approximate · Estimated position: the centre of South Lake Tahoe, CA, the place the record names. Not the accident site.

NTSB narrative

ACCORDING TO THE AIRCRAFT OCCUPANTS, THE AIRCRAFT OWNER, WHO HOLDS A COMMERCIAL PILOT AND CFI CERTIFICATES, WAS OCCUPYING THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT. A FRIEND OF THE PILOT, A 246 HOUR PRIVATE PILOT WITH NO EXPERIENCE IN HIGH PERFORMANCE TURBINE POWERED AIRCRAFT, WAS IN THE LEFT SEAT AND FLYING THE AIRCRAFT UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE OWNER. WHILE ON A STRAIGHT IN APPROACH TO THE AIRPORT, THE FLIGHT WAS ADVISED THREE TIMES BY THE ATCT OF A VARIABLE RIGHT CROSS WIND FROM 200 TO 220 DEGREES AT SPEEDS FROM 8 TO 14 KNOTS, WITH HIGHER GUST COMPONENTS. THE TOWER ALSO ADVISED THE FLIGHT OF REPORTS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE TURBULENCE ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND. BOTH PILOTS REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD JUST TOUCHED DOWN ON RUNWAY 18 WHEN A SUDDEN CROSS WIND GUST LIFTED THE RIGHT WING. THE PRIVATE PILOT DID NOT CORRECT THE SITUATION AND THE AIRCRAFT OWNER COULD NOT OVERPOWER THE OTHER PILOTS CONTROL INPUTS IN TIME TO CORRECT FOR THE WIND GUST. THE LEFT WING TIP DRUG THE GROUND AND THE AIRCRAFT CARTWHEELED OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND INTO AN AIRPORT FENCE.

Probable cause

THE FAILURE OF BOTH PILOTS TO ADEQUATELY ANTICIPATE AND COMPENSATE FOR THE VARIABLE CROSS WIND CONDITION, AND, THE PILOT IN COMMAND'S INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF THE FLIGHT. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LEFT SEAT PILOT'S LIMITED TOTAL EXPERIENCE AND EXPERIENCE IN HIGH PERFORMANCE AIRCRAFT TYPES.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record LAX92LA359
Event ID
20001211X15455
Case number
LAX92LA359
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: 0c41c24a04b4feb5b3285c9f1395101757faee81bbede02160ab404e08407598; retrieved 2026-09-21T23:09:21.504Z.