Accident Details
On April 10, 2013, about 0926 Pacific daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR22, registration N205KT, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain in autopilot-controlled descent after the pilot became incapacitated during cruise flight near Silver Peak, Nevada. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously injured. The flight originated from Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, about 0752, under visual meteorological conditions as a personal cross-country flight. No flight plan was filed.
Sequence of Events
Witnesses reported an airplane crash in the desert near the Heart of Nature alum mine in Esmeralda County. Law enforcement found the aircraft relatively intact with wings, empennage, and engine attached, and the injured pilot in the left front seat. When asked what happened, the pilot mumbled incoherently, sounding like "I fell asleep" or "I just wanted to sleep."
The following day, FAA inspectors visited the pilot in the hospital. The pilot stated he had attempted to take his own life. He described flying south after takeoff, climbing to 16,500 feet msl, and entering a waypoint 500 miles away into the GPS. He selected a fuel tank containing 20 gallons, estimated to run out in just over an hour, and ingested 40 1-milligram sleeping pills. His next memory was waking up in the hospital.
Subsequent recovery revealed damage: the nose landing gear was bent aft, both main landing gears were bent upward and outboard, and the forward lower fuselage was crushed and deformed upward and aft. Despite multiple attempts, the pilot declined further interviews citing legal issues.
Autopilot and Descent
Data from the aircraft's Avidyne primary flight display and multifunction display showed the flight path: south for 22 nautical miles, then a northwesterly heading of about 330 degrees, climbing to 16,500 feet msl and maintaining that altitude for 1 hour 8 minutes. At about 0917, the selected wing tank's fuel exhausted, causing engine power loss. The Avidyne DFC90 autopilot's envelope protection feature then initiated a controlled descent. This feature, active whenever the autopilot is engaged, continuously computes stall margin and, if a reserve lift threshold is violated, reduces bank and/or lowers the nose to maintain a safe margin (approximately 1.1 times stall speed with wings level and power loss). The descent continued to impact, with indicated airspeed varying from 84 to 103 knots and descent rate from 1,100 to 1,500 feet per minute. The last recorded data point showed 84 knots and 1,500 feet per minute descent rate.