Cirrus SR20 N866CD

Summary

On 11 November 2025 at about 23:50 local time, a Cirrus SR20 registered N866CD was involved in an accident near Chesterfield, Missouri, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

11 November 2025 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Chesterfield, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Spirit of St. Louis (KSUS)

Coordinates

38.6499, -90.5871

Aircraft

Cirrus SR20

Registration

N866CD

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

Decatur → Chesterfield

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN26LA044

2 people had minor injuries.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On November 11, 2025, about 1750 central standard time, a Cirrus SR20, N866CD, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Chesterfield, Missouri. The pilot and copilot received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that during the night flight, they were on approach to the destination airport and continued to descend with the flaps set to 50%. He slowed the airplane below 100 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS) and extended the flaps to 100%. Shortly after, they heard a “bang” from the front of the airplane and the engine RPM increased. At the same time the airplane made an uncommanded right yaw and roll, and he was unable to maintain control of the airplane. As the airplane was in a steep right spiraling descent, he activated the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), then retarded the throttle and mixture levers. The airplane descended under the canopy and impacted trees and terrain in a nose low attitude. The pilots egressed the airplane without further incident. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane descended into a wooded area and the empennage separated during the accident sequence. The airplane remained suspended vertically by the parachute and harness. The propeller was embedded in the ground and the left wing was resting on the ground (see figure 1). Figure 1. Accident airplane where it came to rest (Source: FAA). The flaps were found in a fully retracted position, and the flap switch was positioned to 100%. The flap control system and associated hardware remained intact from the flap actuator to the control surfaces. The bottom of the airplane was mostly covered with engine oil and there was a large pool of engine oil in the engine cowling, but the engine did not exhibit evidence of a catastrophic failure. The airplane’s avionics were sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for data extraction. The airplane was retained to further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.