The Daher-Socata TBM 850 single-engine turboprop aircraft N965DM that crashed near Buffalo
Prominent attorney Steve Barnes of the Buffalo, NY, law firm, Cellino & Barnes and his niece, Elizabeth Barnes, an attorney with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boston, MA, were killed in a fatal private plane crash that took place in Pembroke, NY. They were flying in a Daher-Socata TBM 850 single-engine turboprop aircraft en route from Manchester, NH, to Buffalo. Preliminary information from an on-line flight tracker site shows the aircraft flying at a high cruising altitude until after it would be expected to have started its descent into Buffalo and then fell into a two-minute out-of-control extreme dive to the ground approximately 20 miles east of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
While it is still very early in the investigation, initial flight information shows that the aircraft flew at its cruising altitude beyond its expected time to descend into Buffalo and then entered an uncontrolled dive to the ground. This is eerily similar to a crash of a similar Socata-TBM aircraft that killed a Rochester, NY couple in 2014. That crash resulted from a loss of pressurization, which incapacitated the pilot and caused the crash.
In the Media:
Kreindler partner Brian Alexander speaks with WBEN's Sue Rose
Kreindler Partner and former military pilot Brian Alexander discussed possible causes of the crash with Sue Rose of WBEN radio in Buffalo, NY: “The critical thing is going to be retrieving as much of the wreckage as possible and making sure it is as intact as possible. With no black box, there will be other data on some of the avionics and onboard systems that will provide some information. Those will be really important to find, protect and preserve.”
Kreindler partners Daniel Rose, Brian Alexander and Justin Green have investigated and prosecuted numerous aircraft accidents involving Daher-Socata TBM aircraft, including the crash of another TBM aircraft that killed a Rochester couple in 2014 under similar circumstances.
Kreindler attorneys include licensed pilots with accident investigation training and the experience to know what to look for in airplane crashes under many different circumstances.
Preliminary Investigation
Kreindler’s preliminary investigation shows that the 2009 Socata TBM 700 (TBM850*) was a fixed-wing plane with a single Pratt & Whitney PT6A66D model turbo-prop 850 horsepower engine. The aircraft sat seven and was registered to N965DM LLC, which shares the same address as Cellino & Barnes headquarters in Buffalo.
The Daher-Socata TBM 850 is a higher-performance variant of the TBM 700, upgraded with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D engine, rated at 850 horsepower in flight.
The plane flew from Buffalo to Manchester, NH, Friday morning, landing at 9:14 a.m., according to the flight tracking website Flightaware.com. The website shows that the plane was then scheduled to leave Manchester at 9:45 a.m. but didn’t take off until 10:18 a.m. It was slated to arrive back in Buffalo at 11:45 a.m.
There remains a wide range of other possible causes of the crash, including flight control problems, fire on board or a medical emergency among other potential factors.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday its investigators will not be traveling to the scene of the crash. “The decision to not travel to the scene included assessment of Covid-19 risks,” an NTSB spokesman said.
Who knows more about aviation law than attorneys who are also licensed, commercial pilots?
Kreindler Partners and Former Military Pilots (L-R): Justin Green (USMC) Brian Alexander (U.S. Army) Dan Rose (U.S. Navy)
Kreindler Experience with Private Airplanes and Socata
Kreindler attorneys have handled several cases involving the Socata TBM aircraft model that was involved in this tragedy:
Socata TBM 700 Crash, Caribbean Sea
Socata TBM 700 Crash, Morristown, NJ
Socata TBM 700 Crash, Dartmouth, MA
Partner and former Army pilot Brian Alexander successfully represented the widow of an executive killed in a preventable Socata TBM 700 plane crash in Morristown, NJ. Partner Dan Rose successfully litigated another case involving a Socata airplane in which the TBM 900 lost cabin pressure and deprived the couple on board of oxygen before it ran out of fuel and crashed.
No law firm in the world has represented more clients and their families following private plane crashes than Kreindler & Kreindler.
We Wrote the Book
We wrote the book
Kreindler has literally written the book on aviation accident law. Our partners have authored numerous highly acclaimed books, articles and treatises, including the leading treatise in the aviation litigation field, Aviation Accident Law.
Kreindler is one of the largest and most distinguished aviation accident law firms in the world. Since 1950, our attorneys have served as lead counsel in nearly every major commercial aviation disaster litigation. Additionally, we have handled countless private, charter, military, general aviation and helicopter accident cases. Our partners have authored numerous highly acclaimed books, articles and treatises on aviation litigation, including the leading treatise in the field, Aviation Accident Law.
While it is still very early in the investigation, initial flight information shows that the aircraft flew at its cruising altitude beyond its expected time to descend into Buffalo and then entered an uncontrolled dive to the ground. This is eerily similar to a crash of a similar Socata-TBM aircraft that killed a Rochester, NY couple in 2014. That crash resulted from a loss of pressurization, which incapacitated the pilot and caused the crash.
There remains a wide range of other possible causes of the crash, including flight control problems, fire on board or a medical emergency among other potential factors.
