KGMI News
by Peter Wagner

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The small plane that crashed at Bellingham International Airport during a snowstorm had snow sliding off the wings during takeoff, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.

The factual report provides more details on the midday Feb. 27 accident, which left the pilot with minor injuries and the plane substantially damaged just shy of the airport’s fuel storage area.

While the region was in the grips of a driving snowstorm, the pilot of the SOCATA TBM700 was taxiing to the southbound runway and saw some  wet snow building up on the wings, the agency wrote.

Data from the airport weather station showed a light wind, one-half mile visibility, snow, and freezing fog about 30 minutes before the accident.

As the plane was accelerating down the runway, the pilot later told investigators the snow began “sloughing off” the wings.

The single-engine airplane made it about 150 feet in the air before it swung to the left.

The pilot tried to steer to the right, but indicated to investigators that he knew his plane was about to stall, which means it wouldn’t stay in the air long.

Dipping the nose down and pulling the throttle back, the plane hit the ground with its left wing down and skidded almost 600 feet, investigators wrote.

In their report, the NTSB points to passages in an FAA piloting handbook: make sure the wings are free of ‘contamination’ before flying.

On a form, investigators say the pilot recommended “better deicing” before trying to take off.

The pilot, who was identified as a 51-year-old man, has a private license with an estimated 1,703 total flying hours.

He had planned to fly to Puyallup that day, according to the report.

View from the Sky

“[The report] didn’t contain a lot of surprises,” said KGMI Aviation Analyst Jeffrey Lustick.

Weather at the airport was less than optimal, with only about 2,000 feet of visibility.

While not mentioned in the initial report, Lustick said the pilot took on jet fuel before taking off, which could have lowered the temperature of the wings (as fuel is stored in the wings on this type of aircraft).

“That could create a catastrophic condition with the airflow over the wing in the type of weather conditions that existed at the time,” he said.

Accidents like this are seen by many in the aviation community as a learning tool, and this crash is no exception.

A more detailed report from NTSB investigators could be released within the next year.