Cirrus SR22T N317KJ

Summary

On 11 February 2022 at about 02:06 local time, a Cirrus SR22T registered N317KJ was involved in an accident near Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 February 2022 at 02:06

Classification

Accident

Location

Lincoln, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

40.8509, -96.7591

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22T

Registration

N317KJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Zionsville → Lincoln

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN22LA117

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s decision to continue the flight with abnormal engine indications and the subsequent failure of the No. 5 cylinder connecting rod for unknown reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the engine start, taxi, and run-up were normal. The night flight proceeded uneventfully until about 60 nm from the destination airport when the engine briefly stuttered and started to run rough. The pilot stated that he told air traffic control that the engine was running rough and requested to divert to an airport located about 39 nautical miles (nm) east of the destination airport. About 40 nm from the destination airport, the pilot told air traffic that the engine smoothed out and he wanted to continue the flight to the destination airport. About 6 nm from the destination airport, the pilot told air traffic that he would be unable to make it to the runway due to engine power loss and was going to look for a field where he could land. He located a field and deployed the airframe parachute. The airplane landed, under parachute, in the field and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Recorded avionics data for the flight showed that the abnormal engine indications began about 100 nm from the destination airport and continued to the end of the flight. The pilot continued the flight and passed two airports where a safe precautionary landing could have been performed while operating in night light conditions, which increased the risk of finding a safe area to perform an off-airport landing. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed a catastrophic engine failure. The No. 4 and 5 cylinders were not connected to their respective crankpins. The No. 5 cylinder crankpin surface lacked the deformation and scoring found on the No. 4 cylinder crankpin, suggesting that the No. 5 piston connecting rod separated from its crankpin and that material from the No. 5 cylinder induced foreign object damage and subsequent failure to the remaining portions of the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.