History of Flight
On March 31, 2019, about 1439 mountain daylight time, a Cirrus SR-22, registration N173CT, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Farmington, New Mexico. The pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The cross-country flight departed Cal Black Memorial Airport (U96), Halls Crossing, Utah, about 1345, with a planned destination of Big Spring Mc Mahon-Wrinkle Airport (KBPG), Big Spring, Texas. According to the pilot's family, he did not have any meetings or appointments that necessitated his return by a specific time, and he had flown the accident route of flight at least a dozen times before and was familiar with the terrain.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed that the airplane departed at 1351 and climbed on an eastbound heading. While climbing through 9,125 ft mean sea level (msl), the pilot contacted Cedar City Flight Service Station to activate a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan. During that exchange, the briefer asked the pilot if he had the AIRMET advisory for icing and mountain obscuration for the planned route; the pilot reported that he did.
About 1400, the airplane reached 14,000 ft msl, and the pilot contacted the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDV) requesting VFR flight following services. The controller issued a discrete transponder code and advised the pilot of radar contact, providing the nearest altimeter setting.
By 1409, the airplane had reached its highest altitude of 17,300 ft msl, about 50 nautical miles southeast of U96. The track turned left to east, then slowly transitioned back to southeast. At 1428, the airplane was about 24 miles southwest of Four Corners Regional Airport (KFMN), and the controller provided the KFMN altimeter setting. The airplane then entered a descent to 9,300 ft.
The controller provided a frequency change, which the pilot read back correctly. No other radio transmissions were received from the pilot. At 1438:10, the airplane had descended to 8,575 ft msl (about 3,000 ft agl) and began a descending right turn with a radius of about 3,200 ft, traveling at about 187 mph. The last recorded return occurred 20 seconds later, with the airplane at 6,850 ft msl on a southbound track, corresponding to a descent rate of about 5,175 ft per minute.
An FAA alert notice (ALNOT) was issued at 1512. A search and rescue mission conducted by the Civil Air Patrol and the New Mexico State Police located the wreckage about 1700.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land, issued in September 2015. His flight logbooks were not recovered; at the time of his last FAA medical examination on March 28, 2017, he reported 270 total hours flight experience, 64 of which occurred in the previous six months.
Between August 27 and September 3, 2017, the pilot attended a Cirrus transition training course in Abilene, Texas, including 10.9 hours of flight experience in a Cirrus SR22TN with an Avidyne Entegra avionics suite and 8.5 hours of ground instruction.
Aircraft Information
The pilot purchased the airplane on July 25, 2017. It was certified for instrument flight rules (IFR) operation and equipped with Avidyne FlightMax primary and multifunction displays, a Garmin GNS 430, and conventional backup instruments. A satellite weather data receiver was included, and the pilot had an active weather package subscription at the time of the accident.
Fueling records from a fixed based operator at U96 indicated that the pilot added 65.2 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation gasoline at 2217 on March 29. There was no evidence the airplane had flown between that time and the accident flight.
The airplane was equipped with a “No Hazard” de-ice system designed for inadvertent entry into icing conditions, not certified for flight into known icing conditions. It also had a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) with a demonstrated maximum deployment speed of 133 kts indicated airspeed.
Meteorological Information
A Bureau of Land Management law enforcement officer who responded to the accident site stated that upon his arrival, skies were clear, but the ground was wet with rain from a shower that had passed through a few hours prior.
The closest official weather observation station, KFMN (about 33 miles north-northwest at 5,506 ft elevation), reported VFR conditions throughout the morning, with light rain and gusting winds to 26 knots at 1553, and a peak wind of 29 knots at 1528.
The National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center issued a Day 1 Convective Outlook at 1030 and 1330 indicating areas of general thunderstorms forecast for the accident site during the accident period. The NWS Aviation Weather Center issued a convective SIGMET at 1255, valid through 1455 along the route, warning of embedded thunderstorms with tops to 29,000 ft msl, moving from 330° at 20 knots.
AIRMETs Sierra and Zulu were valid for the route and accident site, warning of IFR conditions due to precipitation and mist, mountain obscuration, and moderate icing between 8,000 ft and 18,000 ft msl.
A High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model sounding for the accident site depicted a convective condensation level at 5,067 ft agl (11,186 ft msl), lifted condensation level at 5,810 ft agl (11,929 ft msl), and freezing level at 8,132 ft msl. The sounding indicated an unstable environment with a lifted index of -4, potential clouds from 11,000 ft to 14,000 ft msl, and a Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) of 399 J/kg. Downdraft CAPE was 85 J/kg. Visible satellite imagery at 1430 and 1445 showed cumuliform clouds above the accident site moving northwest to southeast. The flight track passed directly under the cloud band.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located in flat, high desert terrain at about 6,185 ft msl, 450 ft southwest of the last radar target, and 30 miles south of KFMN. The first identified point of impact was a 4-ft-deep by 10-ft-wide crater containing the nose landing gear, two propeller blades, and fragmented components. Two linear impact marks corresponding to the wingspan extended from the crater on a north-south heading. The debris field was 450 ft long on a heading of about 210°, with the engine about 30 ft beyond the crater. The parachute system had not been activated: the rocket motor was not expended, and the canopy remained folded.
Engine examination did not reveal evidence of catastrophic failure; spark plugs showed normal wear. The crash-hardened data module in the vertical stabilizer was undamaged but contained no data from the accident flight; the last recorded flight was October 13, 2018.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the New Mexico Office of Medical Investigators determined the pilot died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries. Due to trauma, significant natural disease could not be determined. The oxygen supply tube and cannula were found comingled with the pilot. Toxicology testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified no screened drug substances or ingested alcohol. The pilot's most recent FAA medical examination identified no significant conditions.
Additional Information
The airplane flew almost directly over Shiprock Airstrip (5V5), Shiprock, New Mexico, about 12 minutes before the accident. Sunset at the accident site occurred at 1933 MDT. The pilot filed a flight plan indicating an estimated time enroute of 3 hours 31 minutes, with 5 hours 19 minutes of fuel onboard and a cruise altitude of 17,500 ft.