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CEN23LA138

2023-03-11 · Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FCM

Current FAA registration · N789TB

Make / Model
SOCATA TB21
Year of manufacture
1999 · 24 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING TI0-540 SER (310 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20000204
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AAB3A0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s continued flight into icing conditions in an airplane that was not equipped for icing, which led to structural icing, subsequent loss of airplane control and impact with terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during a night cross country flight, the airplane encountered icing conditions while on an instrument approach. The pilot observed about 4 inches of ice had formed on the wing, running about one foot aft. The pilot reported he put the landing gear down about 5 miles from the runway. The pilot continued the approach and stated he broke out of the clouds about 300-400 ft agl and had “minimal control.” The airplane impacted snow-covered ground and came to rest about a half mile from the runway. The airplane was destroyed by a post-impact fire. In an email, the pilot stated the “airplane was in good shape.” At the time of the accident there was an icing AIRMET that covered the location of the accident. The Socata TB21 Pilot Information Manual states “Flight into known icing conditions is prohibited.” Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Weather planning-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-(general)-Capability exceeded
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Drizzle/mist-Effect on equipment
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_CEN23LA138.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing). All research papers