No fatalities

19 Apr 2015: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22 (N88AX) — ALPHA X-RAY LLC — Fort Myers, FL

Fort Myers, FL, United States

On 19 Apr 2015, a CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22 (registration N88AX) operated by ALPHA X-RAY LLC was involved in an aviation accident near Fort Myers, FL. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's improper decision to land the airplane with a quartering, gusting tailwind and his subsequent failure to flare the airplane and maintain directional control after it bounced, which resulted in a runway excursion. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

On April 19, 2015, a Cirrus SR22 (N88AX) was substantially damaged after impacting a parked airplane, a house, and trees during landing at Pine Shadows Airpark in Fort Myers, Florida. The pilot and three passengers were uninjured.

Accident Details

On April 19, 2015, at approximately 1455 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corp. SR22, registration N88AX, was substantially damaged when it struck a parked airplane, a house, and trees during landing at Pine Shadows Airpark (94FL) in Fort Myers, Florida. The private pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Key West International Airport (EWY), Key West, Florida.

Pilot's Account

According to the pilot, he listened to weather information at Page Field Airport (FMY), about 9 miles south of the accident location, and elected to land on runway 09, a 3,200-foot-long, 50-foot-wide asphalt runway. He made visual contact with the runway about 1 mile from the airport. During the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane had a "steeper angle descent" to the runway when a crosswind "push[ed]" the airplane to the left. In addition, during the landing he did not flare the airplane, which resulted in a "bounce." The pilot added full throttle in an attempt to perform a go-around maneuver, but the airplane was off the runway "sliding towards [a] road and hangar." Then the pilot retarded the engine throttle, attempted to "straighten" out the landing roll; however, the airplane struck a tree, a parked airplane, a house, became airborne again, struck more trees, and finally came to rest upright near a house. All four occupants egressed without injury.

Weather and Damage

The 1453 automated weather observation at FMY included winds from 210 degrees at 13 knots, gusting to 20 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 29°C, dew point 22°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.91 inches of mercury. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector that responded to the accident location, the airplane came to rest approximately 2,500 feet from the initial touch down point. The fuselage and wings were substantially damaged in the accident sequence. In addition, the empennage was separated from the fuselage.

Pilot's Remarks

The pilot reported in the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report, Form 6120.1, that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In addition, under the Operator/Owner Safety Recommendation section of the form, he stated that he would "fly over the field, evaluate wind sock, and longer approach flight pattern."

Contributing factors

Causes

Directional control — Not attained/maintainedPilotEffect on operationDescent/approach/glide path — Not attained/maintained

Other contributing factors

Contributed to outcome