Cirrus SR20 N459BT

Summary

On 3 August 2022 at about 16:25 local time, a Cirrus SR20 registered N459BT was involved in an accident near Nixon, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was 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

3 August 2022 at 16:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Nixon, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Pittsburgh/Butler Rgnl (BTP)

Coordinates

40.7768, -79.9498

Aircraft

Cirrus SR20

Registration

N459BT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2002

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Altoona

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA352

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control while landing, resulting in a runway excursion. Contributing to the outcome was the pilot’s failure to ensure that the airplane’s right side door was properly secured prior to departing on the accident flight, and his subsequent distraction due to the door during the landing attempt.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported, that while departing from the runway the right cockpit door opened. The pilot was unable to close the door and he decided to return to the airport to close the door on the ground. While on final approach and near the runway, the pilot thought he heard the stall warning horn, so he immediately flared the airplane to land. The airplane bounced twice on the runway, so the pilot attempted to abort the landing by advancing the throttle. The airplane veered to the left, exited the runway, and the pilot reduced the throttle in an attempt to maintain directional control. The airplane then struck the runway’s precision approach path indicator before coming to rest in a ditch. The airplane’s firewall was substantially damaged. Following the accident, the pilot stated, “In hindsight I don't think the sound I heard was the stall warning horn, but rather the sound squealing through the partially open door which confused me into thinking the aircraft had stalled.” Given this information, it is likely that the pilot was distracted by the open right door during the landing, which contributed to his loss of control during the landing attempt. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane after the accident reported that she did not observe evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and specifically that there were no mechanical issues with the airplane’s right door latch. Given this information, it is also likely that the pilot had failed to ensure that the door was properly secured prior to departing on the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.