Cirrus SR22 N91MB

Summary

On 28 August 2006 at about 14:38 local time, a Cirrus SR22 registered N91MB was involved in an accident near Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. 4 people were on board and one died, 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 August 2006 at 14:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

39.7700, -86.3194

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22

Registration

N91MB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Indianapolis → Hilton Head

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI06FA245

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed, which resulted in a stall and subsequent spin. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, the overloaded condition of the airplane, and the CG aft of the CG limit.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

"THIS CASE WAS MODIFIED ON MARCH 25, 2009." The right seat passenger reported that the takeoff and initial climb were uneventful until the airplane reached about 4,000 feet of altitude. That was when he noticed that the sound of the engine had changed and saw that the pilot was struggling to control the airplane. The airplane went through a series of three quick rolls and the wing dipped down. The airplane entered a counterclockwise spin. The pilot told the right seat passenger to pull the emergency parachute handle, so he pulled the throttle back to idle, and then pulled the parachute handle. The airplane impacted a water retention pond about 4 seconds later. Witnesses observed the airplane descending through the clouds with a partially deployed parachute. The inspection of the engine and airframe revealed no pre-existing anomalies. The engine data obtained from the Multi-Function Display indicated the engine was operating at full power for the entire flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed with variable cloud bases of 400 - 1,100 feet above the ground (agl) and with cloud tops reported at 3,200 feet above mean sea level. The baggage found in the baggage compartment weighed 262 pounds. The weight limit of the baggage compartment was 130 pounds maximum. The calculated takeoff condition weight of the accident airplane was 3,733 pounds. The Maximum Takeoff Weight was limited to 3,400 pounds. The center-of-gravity (CG) position was at fuselage station (FS) 148.7 inches, or 32.8 percent mean aerodynamic chord (MAC). The CG limits at maximum gross weight are from FS 143.8 inches to FS 148.1 inches. The airplane was overloaded and the CG position was aft of the CG limit. An aircraft performance study, which utilized data extracted from accident airplane, indicated that the airplane's airspeed decayed until the stall angle of attack of the wing was exceeded. The airplane was in a stalled condition for about 30 seconds and then entered a spin.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.