DR. MARTIN BEERMAN’S TBM 700 MAY HAVE BROKEN UP IN FLIGHT

MARTIN BEERMAN’S TBM 700 MAY HAVE BROKEN UP IN FLIGHT

In a terrible accident well respected physician and internist Dr. Martin Beerman was killed while flying his TBM 700 aircraft. There was no significant weather at the location where radar contact with the aircraft was lost in a flight from Northern Ohio to Cincinnati. The flight proceeded normally until it neared Urbana Ohio when it was lost. The wreckage distribution after what looks to be a loss of control shows that it may have come down in pieces which is indicative of an in-flight break-up.

The TBM series aircraft has been around for many years and is now manufactured by Daher in France.

There have been several loss of control accidents of the Socata built airplanes and most have not been weather related. There have also been accidents where pressurization loss has resulted in pilot incapacitation. Some 27 fatal crashes have occurred and some 47 total accidents involving this model. For a limited production aircraft that is a single pilot, single engine aircraft, that is a lot.

An in-flight break-up which is supported by the radar data is a pilot’s worst nightmare come true because once it occurs there is nothing a pilot can do to avoid a fatal crash. Engine failure may also be a factor but the pilots communication with Air Traffic Control should be telling. If there is none about what’s wrong, that could confirm an in-flight break-up. Some pilots who suffer from loss of control are also too busy trying to regain control and do not talk to Air Traffic Control. The aircraft had been cruising at 20,000 feet where pressurization is vital. It then descended to 11,000 feet where oxygen is not required and then sharply down after that.

The NTSB will take possession of the wreckage an ask for the help of Pratt and Whitney who made the engine and Daher who has legal responsibility for the aircraft’s Type Certificate today. That truly is the fox guarding the hen house but after the wreckage is released, the Wolk Law Firm, if engaged, will find the cause.

Our condolences to Dr. Beerman’s family and his colleagues.

Arthur Alan Wolk

8/23/21

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About Airlaw

For more than 50 years, The Wolk Law Firm has concentrated its practice in the area of aviation law, with Arthur personally generating verdicts and settlements of more than a billion dollars during the last decade alone. He is known for obtaining and on appeal, holding, the largest verdicts for each type of air accident claim in recent aviation history.

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