Cirrus SR22 N508AJ

Summary

On 10 June 2016 at about 21:34 local time, a Cirrus SR22 registered N508AJ was involved in an accident near Marion, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 June 2016 at 21:34

Classification

Accident

Location

Marion, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Williamson County Regional (MWA)

Coordinates

37.7700, -89.0069

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22

Registration

N508AJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marion → Marion

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16FA214

1 person died.

The pilots' failure to maintain adequate airspeed while executing a simulated engine failure and landing maneuver, which resulted in the wing's critical angle of attack being exceeded and a subsequent aerodynamic stall and loss of control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After performing six touch-and-go maneuvers without incident, the pilot receiving instruction and flight instructor contacted air traffic control and requested a climb to 3,000 ft to perform a simulated engine failure and landing maneuver. The air traffic controller cleared the pilots for the maneuver and requested that they report the base-to-final turn to the runway, and the pilot acknowledged the instructions. The controller reported that, about 4 minutes later, he observed the airplane in a descending left turn. As the airplane approached the runway, he observed the right wing lift, and the airplane appeared to stall and roll to the right before it impacted terrain. Another witness reported that she could see the entire top of the airplane with the wings pointed up and down, and that she saw one wing strike the terrain shortly thereafter. The flight instructor had no recollection of the accident. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the flight and engine data from the accident flight revealed that the airplane climbed to about 3,000 ft, and then circled while remaining in the airport traffic pattern area. The airplane then descended, and the airspeed gradually decreased from about 110 to about 87 kts. During the final 3 seconds of the recording, vertical, lateral, and longitudinal accelerations increased to recorded peaks of 1.4 g, -0.2 g, and 0.4 g, respectively. During the final second of the recording, the airplane was at 646 ft when it entered a descending left turn; the roll value increased from 36 degrees to 45 degrees left, and the pitch value ranged from -0.5 degrees to 2.4 degrees. The witness statements and flight data are consistent with a the pilots failing to maintain adequate airspeed and exceeding the wing's critical angle of attack, which resulted in a subsequent aerodynamic stall and loss of control. The airplane's parachute system was found deployed, which likely occurred during the impact sequence. Given the low altitude at which the aerodynamic stall occurred (about 646 ft), it is unlikely that preimpact deployment of the system would have positively affected the outcome of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.