Accident Overview
On February 6, 2010, at approximately 1130 eastern standard time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR22, registration N155ZS, nosed over while landing at Indiantown Airport (X58), Indiantown, Florida. The certificated airline transport pilot and a passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which originated from Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV), Gainesville, Florida, with a destination of Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, Florida. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Pilot Information
According to the pilot and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, he held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi-engine land and a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and rotorcraft-helicopter. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on December 7, 2009. The pilot reported 16,000 total hours of flight experience, of which 109 hours were in the accident airplane make and model.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was manufactured in 2008 and issued a standard airworthiness certificate on July 31, 2008. It was equipped with a Teledyne Continental Motors IO-550-N51B engine. The most recent 50-hour/100-hour/annual inspection was completed on August 10, 2009, with 55.3 total hours time in service. A pre-purchase inspection was completed on February 2, 2010, with 71.6 total hours. The aircraft had been refueled at Walnut Ridge Regional Airport (ARG), Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, on February 5, 2010, with 41.9 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. It then flew from ARG to GNV, where it remained overnight; no records indicated refueling at GNV. The flight originated in Medford, Oregon, a few days prior and was being transported to a new owner.
Accident Sequence
The flight departed GNV about 0915 on the day of the accident. While en route to PBI, the passenger became ill, and the pilot diverted to X58. During landing, the nose wheel created a furrow in the turf runway for approximately 30 feet and then dug into the runway, causing the airplane to nose over. The airplane came to rest inverted with the nose heading south. The pilot reported that during the landing roll, the airplane began to oscillate, he was unable to regain control, the nose wheel separated, and the airplane nosed over. He also reported no mechanical malfunctions prior to the accident. According to a phone interview with the Martin County Sheriff's deputy, the nose wheel contacted the runway first, followed by the main landing gear, and then the airplane began to oscillate.
Weather
The 1147 weather observation at Witham Field Airport (SUA), Stuart, Florida, approximately 15 miles northeast of the accident location, included winds from 270 degrees at 20 knots with gusts to 27 knots, broken clouds at 2,000 feet above ground level (agl) and overcast at 3,500 feet agl, temperature 22°C, dew point 14°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of mercury.
Post-Accident Observations
Photographs taken at the accident scene revealed damage to the right side of the nose, one blade of the Hartzell three-bladed propeller was impact-separated, approximately two feet of the outboard section of the right wing was bent downward, the top cap of the rudder was damaged, and the area preceding the vertical stabilizer exhibited compression damage. The ballistic recovery system and Amsafe seatbelt airbags did not deploy. The FAA inspector confirmed control continuity on all surfaces and noted that propeller damage indicated the engine was operating at impact. Photographs showed that the nose wheel began creating a furrow approximately 80 feet prior to where the airplane came to rest. The airport had a single turf runway oriented southeast/northwest, 6,300 feet long and 75 feet wide.