History of Flight
On April 2, 2017, about 1528 Pacific daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR22, registration N167CB, was substantially damaged when it impacted mountainous terrain near Brinnon, Washington. The flight instructor and student pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operating as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.
The cross-country flight departed from Whidbey Air Park (W10), Langley, Washington, at about 1500 with a planned destination of Bremerton National Airport (PWT), Bremerton, Washington.
According to the flight instructor, they had planned a 3-hour instructional flight to accomplish traffic pattern work at PWT. While en route, the instructor stated he wanted to show the student that flying was "fun" and turned the airplane west toward a large valley in the Olympic Mountain range. While flying in the valley, the instructor believed their altitude was at least 2,000 ft above ground level (agl) and reported no wind or turbulence. However, at some point, the pilots realized they needed to climb to avoid terrain. The instructor applied full power and pitched the airplane up into a climb, but the terrain was rising faster than the airplane could climb. The instructor instructed the student to start a right turn; shortly thereafter, he felt the turn was too slow. As the student increased the bank, the instructor took control, but stated that things were happening too fast for him to recover, and he knew they were going to crash. The airplane then impacted terrain.
The accident airplane was equipped with an Avidyne Primary Flight Display containing flash memory devices, which were recovered and downloaded. The data showed the airplane flying southwest over Puget Sound at about 1,700 ft mean sea level (msl). At 1518, it turned left to a south-southwesterly heading. At 1520, it turned west and crossed the shoreline north of Brinnon. The airplane then flew along the Dosewallips river valley at about 1,600 ft msl. At 1523, it began a climb, and at 1526, altitude indicated about 2,407 ft msl. The airplane turned left to fly along the Hungry Creek valley, but terrain continued to rise rapidly. At 1528, the data was consistent with impact near 5,400 ft msl. The accident site was in a box canyon with ridgelines in front and on each side that were 100 ft to several hundred ft higher in elevation. The terrain at the site was about 2,000 ft higher than the river valley about 1.5 miles below.
No anomalies in the recorded data would have precluded normal operation. The last recorded information indicated engine rpm of 2,620, about 29° of right bank, and an indicated ground speed of 81 knots.
Personnel Information
The flight instructor held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and rotorcraft, instrument airplane, and instructor single-engine airplane. He was issued a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate on February 3, 2016, with no limitations. He reported 1,400 total flight hours, with 70 hours in the previous 3 months and 35 hours in the previous 30 days. About 26 hours in the accident airplane make and model and 10 instructor hours were accumulated. He reported hundreds of hours of mountain flying experience. He had recently been hired and completed 5 training flights (10.2 hours) in the Cirrus SR22 during standardization.
The student pilot held a student pilot certificate and was issued an FAA third-class medical certificate on May 11, 2016, with the limitation that he must wear corrective lenses. He reported 5 hours of flight experience; this was his third instruction flight.
Aircraft Information
The low-wing airplane was manufactured in 2004, powered by a 310-horsepower Continental IO-550 engine driving a three-bladed Hartzell constant-speed propeller. The most recent annual inspection was completed on July 30, 2016, at a Hobbs time of 841.6 hours. The flight meter read 557.1 hours and the Hobbs meter read 1,082.4 hours at the accident scene. The Pilot's Operating Handbook listed a rate of climb at 6,000 ft pressure altitude and 98 KIAS of about 1,046 ft per minute at 0° C.
Meteorological Information
The closest official weather reporting location, PWT, was offline on the day of the accident. The next closest was William R. Fairchild International Airport (CLM), Port Angeles, Washington. The CLM observation at 1453 reported wind from 310° at 9 knots, visibility 10 miles or more, few clouds at 3,100 ft, broken ceiling at 4,000 ft, overcast at 6,500 ft, temperature 8° C, dew point 4° C, and altimeter 30.31 inches of mercury. No significant weather was reported or forecast. A high-pressure system was off the northwest Pacific coast. Local weather surveillance radar detected no significant echoes in the area during the hour before the accident.
Wind near the accident area was estimated from the northwest at about 11 knots from the surface to 2,000 ft msl, with little directional variation and winds increasing with height. At 6,300 ft, the approximate height of Mount Christie (13 miles west of the accident site), wind was from 305° magnetic at 16 knots, resulting in a downslope wind over the site. A turbulence model indicated strong vertical shear of about 8.1 knots per 1,000 ft above the surface and a high probability of moderate turbulence. No defined mountain wave or orographic clouds were identified. An AIRMET valid at the accident time was issued for mountain obscuration, occasional moderate turbulence below 15,000 ft, and icing conditions between 2,000 and 12,000 ft.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane impacted a mountainous slope of about 45° and came to rest upright. The wreckage indicated the airplane was in a right turn during impact. All major components were located at the site, about 13 miles east of the summit of Mount Christie in snow-packed mountainous terrain. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS) was not activated.
Additional Information
The FAA's Aviation Safety Program publication "Tips on Mountain Flying" states that experienced pilots recommend crossing a ridge at the ridge elevation plus at least 1,000 ft, and planning to be at that altitude at least three miles before the ridge. Turn performance calculations, based on 30° of bank, indicated a turn radius of about 1,500 ft. The accident area provided only about 1,000 ft between higher terrain on each side for turning away from high terrain ahead. During the first half of the turn, the terrain continued to rise.