Cirrus SR22 — Osage Beach, MO

What happened

A witness reported that the accident pilot flooded the engine while attempting to start it, as fuel was seen draining from the engine compartment before engine start and smoke was seen coming from the engine compartment after engine start. No smoke was observed when the airplane taxied to the runway. Witnesses and surveillance video confirmed that the airplane was trailing smoke after takeoff, and the pilot transmitted via radio that he was returning to the airport. Data retrieved from an onboard GPS receiver indicated that the airplane reached a peak altitude of about 200 ft above ground level after takeoff, then rolled left from about 30° to about 50° before it rolled rapidly to the right, became inverted, and descended into terrain.

The wreckage was mostly consumed by fire. Examination revealed no anomalies with the engine or airframe; however, the scope of the examination was limited due to fire damage. Although no source of fire in-flight could be confirmed, the visual observations of smoke in flight and the pilot’s radio call that he was returning to the airport are consistent with an inflight fire. The investigation could not determine whether fire affected the controllability of the airplane or whether the pilot failed to maintain airplane control while turning back to the airport. No medical evidence was found to indicate the pilot inhaled smoke prior to impact.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.