Cirrus SR22 N7850P

Summary

On 15 December 2011 at about 16:54 local time, a Cirrus SR22 registered N7850P, operated by Frank M Smith & Associates Inc, was involved in an accident near Phoenix, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 December 2011 at 16:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Scottsdale (SDL)

Coordinates

33.6083, -111.9300

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22

Registration

N7850P

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

Frank M Smith & Associates Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Show Low → Scottsdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12FA067

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate separation behind a corporate jet, which resulted in an encounter with wake turbulence and a subsequent loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A review of radar data revealed that the single-engine Cirrus airplane entered the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 3 as a Gulfstream twin-engine corporate jet was 5 miles to the west for landing. The tower controller instructed the Cirrus pilot to extend his downwind leg to follow the Gulfstream and then instructed him to report when he had the Gulfstream in sight. The Cirrus pilot made his base turn towards the final approach course before reporting the Gulfstream in sight, which resulted in the Cirrus being in very close proximity to the Gulfstream. The Cirrus pilot had the discretion to turn from the extended downwind to the base leg prior to the controller advising him to do so; however, when he made this decision it then became his responsibility to maintain safe separation from the Gulfstream. After several traffic advisories from the controller to the accident pilot, the pilot finally reported the Gulfstream in sight, at which point the Gulfstream was about 0.11 nautical miles ahead of--and 200 to 300 feet higher than--the Cirrus on final to runway 3. The controller then radioed the Cirrus pilot to stand by for a possible go-around and the pilot replied that he was standing by. The controller instructed the Cirrus pilot to start a climb and go around. Three seconds later, an unidentified pilot radioed the controller that an airplane on final had just gone down; no further communications were received from the Cirrus pilot. About 7 seconds before the accident, the Cirrus was at an altitude of 1,400 feet above ground level. The Gulfstream had passed that location about 30 seconds earlier and 150 feet higher than the Cirrus. The upset and loss of control most likely occurred as a direct result of an encounter with the wake turbulence generated by the Gulfstream while the Cirrus was in trail and on final approach to the runway. An onboard recording device revealed that at 0954 the Cirrus experienced an upset, rolling rapidly from 35 degrees left-wing-down to over 77 degrees left-wing-down, before rapidly rolling to 25 degrees right-wing-down. At this time, the airplane's rate of descent was in excess of 3,000 feet per minute.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.