Cirrus SR22 N161DL

Summary

On 16 September 2018 at about 20:06 local time, a Cirrus SR22 registered N161DL was involved in an accident near Montauk, New York, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 September 2018 at 20:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Montauk, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Montauk (MTP)

Coordinates

41.0767, -71.9206

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22

Registration

N161DL

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montauk → East Hampton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA253

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to properly secure his seat before initiating the takeoff, which resulted in the seat sliding back as the airplane accelerated during takeoff, his inability to reach the pedals, and the subsequent loss of directional control and impact with trees and shrubs.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was taking off for a personal, cross-country flight. He reported that, at rotation, the pilot's seat "abruptly slid backwards to the outermost distance from the controls." As a result, the pilot could no longer reach the pedals to maintain directional control, and his aileron input could not counteract the airplane's left-turning tendency. The airplane subsequently departed the left side of the runway, struck trees and shrubs, and then came to rest upright. The wings, fuselage, and empennage sustained substantial damage.   According to the pilot, except for the pilot seat, the airplane performed as designed with no other anomalies noted. Examination of the pilot's seat revealed no anomalies with the installation, dimensions, or operation. The seat moved freely fore and aft with no binding or anomalous operation noted. During postaccident functional testing of the seat, when twisting forces to the right were applied to the seat and while being slid forward, the seat position locking pin could be partially engaged, but not all the pins would seat, and the control handle would not go fully down nor could it be forced into position. Straightening or forward movement of the seat resulted in full pin engagement with the control handle in the fully down position. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot applied a twisting force when moving the seat and did not fully engage the seat position locking pins before initiating the takeoff, which resulted in the seat subsequently sliding back as the airplane accelerated during takeoff and the pilot's subsequent loss of directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.