History of Flight
On September 8, 2011, about 1122 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, registration N159JW, impacted a cornfield near West Liberty, Ohio, and was destroyed by impact forces and postimpact fire. The private pilot, the sole occupant, received fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to Windsor Ltd LLC and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a business flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Bellefontaine Regional Airport (EDJ), Bellefontaine, Ohio, about 1118.
Witnesses reported that the pilot intended to land at Urbana, Ohio, about 15 nautical miles south of EDJ, to pick up a passenger. The passenger said he expected to be picked up around 1115, but the airplane never arrived. One witness heard an airplane approaching about 1115, sounding loud and too low, with the engine running fine. Another witness saw the airplane in a 75-degree nose-low attitude and heard the engine go silent three times and rev back up twice. A third witness observed the airplane perform a vertical loop, then a vertical climb followed by a tail-first fall with a partial spin, and heard a loss of engine sound during the climb. No communications recordings with any FAA facility were found.
Personnel Information
The 51-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating and was not instrument rated. He held a third-class medical certificate issued August 29, 2010, with no limitations. His logbook indicated 591 total flight hours, including 399 hours in the accident airplane. His last flight review was on September 2, 2011.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a single-engine Cirrus SR22, serial number 1159, manufactured in 2006. It was powered by a Continental IO-550N engine (310 horsepower) and seated four. It was certificated in the normal category and not designed for aerobatic operations; spins and aerobatic maneuvers were prohibited. The last annual inspection was on May 2, 2011, at a total time of 682.5 hours. The airplane had flown 3 hours since that inspection. The pilot purchased the airplane in 2006.
Meteorological Information
At 1120, the surface weather observation at EDJ (about 7.3 nm north of the accident site) reported: wind 360 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 3 miles, overcast ceiling at 600 feet, temperature 16°C, dew point 16°C, altimeter 29.91 inches of mercury. The airport elevation at EDJ was 1,122 feet; the elevation at Grimes Field Airport (I74) in Urbana was 1,068 feet.
Wreckage and Impact
The accident site was in a cornfield about one mile west of West Liberty, Ohio. The initial impact was on a magnetic heading of about 110 degrees, with the airplane in a 45-degree nose-down attitude and 10-degree left wing low. The impact crater was about 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 8 inches deep. The debris field extended 120 feet east and was 27 feet wide. The fuselage was destroyed by impact and fire. Aileron, rudder, and elevator cable continuity was confirmed. The flap actuator was in the flaps-up position. The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) rocket motor was expended and the parachute partially separated.
The engine exhibited impact and fire damage. Cylinders had normal combustion deposits; compression was obtained on cylinders one, three, five, and six. The crankshaft was fractured between the propeller flange and the nose seal. Propeller blades were fractured and showed bending and scratching.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicological testing detected acetaminophen, codeine, diazepam, dihydrocodeine, hydrocodone, nordiazepam, oxazepam, oxycodone, temazepam, and tetrahydrocannabinol (marijuana) and its metabolite in various tissues. No carbon monoxide, cyanide, or ethanol were found.
Tests and Research
The NTSB attempted to read data from the Primary Flight Display (PFD) memory chips but was unsuccessful due to thermal damage. The Multi-Function Display (MFD) memory card was recovered and contained data from the accident flight, about 7 minutes in duration. MFD data showed the airplane started taxiing at 11:15:36 and took off from runway 7 at 11:17:54, turning to a heading of about 170 degrees. Engine parameters were normal until 11:21:24, when the MFD stopped recording. About 10 seconds prior, engine RPM dropped from 2,200 to 1,900, manifold pressure from 22 to 15 inches Hg, and fuel flow from 16 to 9 gallons per hour. Radar data from Port Columbus International Airport showed the aircraft departed about 11:18, turned to 168 degrees, and climbed to about 2,000 feet mean sea level. Radar contact was lost at 11:20:17, and regained briefly at 11:21:59. The last radar returns indicated a descent from 2,300 to 2,200 feet msl at a rate of about 100 feet per minute.