Cirrus SR22 N723LJ

Summary

On 15 December 2009 at about 21:16 local time, a Cirrus SR22 registered N723LJ was involved in an accident near Gulf of Mexico, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 December 2009 at 21:16

Classification

Accident

Location

Gulf of Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Albert Whitted (SPG)

Coordinates

27.3661, -85.4336

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22

Registration

N723LJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Petersburg → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10FAMS1

1 person died.

Undetermined (airplane and pilot missing).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After takeoff from the coastal airport, the airplane made a left turn to the west, and the pilot was approved for a frequency change by air traffic control. There were no further known communications with the pilot. A radar target consistent with the airplane's departure was observed flying westbound over gulf waters. The target climbed to an altitude of 9,900 feet mean sea level (msl), where it remained until radar contact was lost. The last radar target was observed about 1 hour after takeoff, about 150 miles west-southwest of the departure airport, traveling at a ground speed of 167 knots. The pilot's spouse was not aware that he had been flying and reported the airplane missing 2 days later. Search and Rescue personnel conducted three sorties which covered 1,890 square miles with negative results. At the time of this writing, the location of the airplane, and the condition of the pilot, are not known. The airplane had accumulated about 500 hours of operation since new, and 100 hours since its most recent annual inspection, which was performed about 8 months prior to the flight. The pilot had accumulated about 700 hours of total flight experience, which included about 520 hours in the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.