CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22 — Tallahassee, FL

What happened

During an instrument-landing-system approach in night meteorological conditions, the airplane initially joined the localizer course but subsequently veered off to the right. The controller made numerous advisory calls to the pilot to direct him back toward the localizer course; however, though the airplane initially made corrections back toward the localizer course, it subsequently turned again toward the right. Radar data indicate that the airplane continued to descend while flying a serpentine track to the right of the localizer course until it made one final turn back toward the localizer and entered a low altitude stall/spin. Immediately prior to entering the stall/spin, the pilot stated over the radio "gotta go." No mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane and no physical anomalies were noted with the pilot. While the airplane was equipped with a parachute system that, contrary to the checklists, was not armed by the pilot before flight, the low altitude at which the pilot lost control of the airplane would have made a successful deployment doubtful even with the system armed. The pilot and a passenger were fatally injured, one person on the ground was seriously injured, and two others received minor injuries when the airplane impacted automobiles and terrain.

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