Cirrus SR22 N858RC

Summary

On 27 December 2023 at about 00:13 local time, a Cirrus SR22 registered N858RC was involved in an accident near Canton, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 December 2023 at 00:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Canton, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Thompson Field Airport (1TA7)

Coordinates

32.6169, -95.8683

Aircraft

Cirrus SR22

Registration

N858RC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Addison → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN24FA073

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to attain the runway while landing at night, which resulted in an impact with trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was attempting a night visual approach to a private airport that had solar deck lights as runway lights. A witness heard the pilot make radio transmissions for the downwind, base, and final approach legs of the traffic pattern before the airplane impacted trees and terrain east of the runway. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces. Non-volatile data from the airplane showed the approach was approximately parallel to and about 340 ft east of the runway before the tree line, which the airplane struck. The data showed the airplane had minimal altimetry error. The data also showed that the engine operated with no anomalies throughout the approach and impact with terrain. Postaccident examination of the airplane confirmed flight control continuity, as well as rotational and torsional features on the propeller blades and spinner consistent with engine operation. An autopsy was not performed on the pilot, so an incapacitating medical event could not be ruled out. It is likely that pilot performed an inadequate visual approach at night that resulted in a collision with terrain. Based on the available evidence, it was undetermined why the pilot performed an inadequate visual approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.