Overview

The Daher TBM 960 is the current-production flagship of the TBM single-engine turboprop line, introduced in 2022 as the successor to the 940. Its defining change is the powerplant: the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-66XT, the first PT6 with a dual-channel digital Engine and Propeller Electronic Control System (EPECS). EPECS collapses the traditional power and propeller levers into a single e-throttle and adds FADEC-like protection, automatically preventing hot starts and exceedances while optimising the engine and five-blade composite propeller from takeoff to shutdown. The result is jet-like single-lever operation on a turboprop, paired with the Garmin G3000 deck and HomeSafe emergency autoland carried over from the 940.

The airframe remains the aerodynamically-refined TBM 900 platform, now at a 7,615 lb MTOW, cruising at 330 KTAS at FL280 with 1,730 nm of range and a 31,000 ft ceiling. What separates the 960 from its predecessors is ownership economics as much as automation: the PT6E carries a 5,000-hour TBO, roughly 40 percent longer than the legacy PT6A-66D, and Daher’s TBM Care program covers scheduled maintenance for the first five years, lowering early cash-out cost. At 330 KTAS it ranks among the fastest production single-turboprops in its class, a position it now shares with its 2026 successor, the TBM 980, which adds the Garmin G3000 Prime deck on the same airframe and engine; on mission it competes with the Pilatus PC-12 and on speed with the Epic E1000. Choose the TBM 960 when the single-lever PT6E, the longer 5,000-hour TBO, and TBM Care coverage matter more than the G3000 Prime deck of the newer 980.

Key Features for GA Buyers

• Single-lever digital turbine. The PT6E-66XT’s dual-channel EPECS reduces engine and propeller management to one e-throttle with full FADEC-like exceedance protection, the closest a turboprop comes to jet simplicity.
• HomeSafe emergency autoland. Garmin’s autoland can take control and land the aircraft at a suitable airport if the pilot is incapacitated, a meaningful safety margin for the single-pilot owner.
• Longer TBO and covered early maintenance. A 5,000-hour engine TBO and the five-year TBM Care scheduled-maintenance program materially lower the cost of the first ownership cycle.
• Near-jet cruise on one turbine. 330 KTAS at FL280 from a single turbine, with the operating economics of one engine and access to runways closed to most jets.

Trade-offs

• Single-engine in the flight levels. The 960 flies the same high-altitude single-engine mission as every TBM; buyers cross-shopping the PC-12 or a light twin accept one engine for the speed and economics.
• Transition cost for the owner-pilot. Moving from a high-performance piston into a $4.5M-plus turbine brings a steep insurance and recurrent-training requirement, often the largest fixed cost in the early years.
• Cabin narrower than the PC-12. The TBM trades cabin volume and an aft cargo door for speed and a smaller frontal area; the PC-12 wins when interior space and payload flexibility matter more than cruise.
• Superseded by the 980. The 2026 TBM 980 brings the newer Garmin G3000 Prime deck and a connected cabin on the same airframe and engine, which can weigh on the 960’s standing as the current flagship.

See Also

• Daher TBM 980 – the 2026 successor; same airframe and PT6E engine with the new Garmin G3000 Prime deck. Compare
• Daher TBM 900 – the airframe origin; same platform, 850-shp PT6A-66D. Compare
• Daher TBM 940 – the immediate predecessor with autothrottle but the manual-lever PT6A. Compare
• Pilatus PC-12 – the single-turboprop competitor with a larger cabin and slower cruise. Compare
• Epic E1000 – composite single turboprop matching the TBM on speed. Compare