Cirrus SR22 N715CD

Summary

On 16 May 2013 at about 16:20 local time, a Cirrus SR22 registered N715CD was involved in an incident near Dallas, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 May 2013 at 16:20

Classification

Incident

Location

Dallas, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.9605, -96.8292

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22

Registration

N715CD

Category

Airplane

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dallas → Independence

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13IA285

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the airplane’s parachute to deploy when activated during a loss of control in cruise flight due to the dynamic maneuvering of the airplane at the time of the activation, which exceeded the parachute system’s certification requirements.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he lost airplane control during cruise flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and turbulence. He subsequently activated the airplane's parachute system, but the parachute failed to deploy. The pilot regained control of the airplane after exiting IMC and landed the airplane without further incident. Certification tests were performed from level flight at speeds ranging from 62 to 137 knots indicated airspeed, and one test included deployment of the parachute system after a one-turn spin. The testing showed that to minimize the chances of parachute entanglement and reduce aircraft oscillations under the parachute, the parachute system should be activated from a wings-level, upright attitude if possible. Postincident examination of the parachute system did not reveal any system component failure. Postincident testing showed that off-axis deployment of the parachute could exceed the forces required for a successful deployment of the parachute. If the airplane has a large pitch or bank angle or angular rates (or a combination of these) as the parachute rocket leaves the airplane, the airplane will rotate and cause the rocket tether to pull at an angle other than that intended, and the parachute will fail to deploy. Radar data showed that the airplane was in a very dynamic flight pattern with extreme pitch and bank angles when the parachute system was activated. Thus, the parachute likely failed to deploy when activated due to the dynamic maneuvering of the airplane at the time of the activation, which exceeded the parachute system's certification requirements.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.