Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB CEN18FA204
CIRRUS SR22 — Midland, TX
| Date | June 1, 2018 |
| Location | Midland, TX |
| Aircraft | CIRRUS SR22 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 39 |
| Pilot total time | 192 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | 92 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
An inadvertent stall, resulting in an uncontrollable descent and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the high density altitude.
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action performance-Passenger - C
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Qualification/certification-Pilot
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Temp/humidity/pressure-High density altitude-Effect on operation - F
What happened
The student pilot and passenger were departing on a personal flight in the student pilot's airplane. Witnesses saw the airplane climb to about 200 ft above the runway at a slow airspeed, stall, and descend in a right turn until impact with terrain. According to the pilot's wife, he regularly flew the airplane, often with passengers. No pilot logbooks or records were found and the student's flight experience could not be determined. Examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Given the atmospheric conditions, the density altitude about the time of the accident was 6,660 ft mean sea level (msl).