HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 7, 2019, about 1100 Pacific standard time, a Cirrus SR22 airplane, N220MT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Upland, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
One witness saw the accident airplane enter the traffic pattern shortly behind another airplane. As the other airplane landed, the accident airplane was on base to final flying “low and very slow” as if it was “waiting for” the other airplane. The left wing dropped, and the airplane descended to the ground.
The accident airplane approached the airport from the southwest; when it was about 1 nautical mile from the airport, another airplane entered a left downwind for runway 24. The other airplane made a large traffic pattern and was on base when the accident airplane entered a narrower left downwind for the same runway at about 93 knots. The accident airplane's speed slowly decreased while in the traffic pattern. The first airplane landed on the runway when the accident airplane appeared to be in a left turn toward base at about 69 knots. Shortly thereafter, the accident airplane abruptly descended from 1,800 to 1,600 feet at an average rate of 3,030 feet per minute and radar data was lost.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe logbooks were found within the airplane and were heavily burned. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe logbooks were found within the airplane and were heavily burned. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane impacted a house in a residential area about 1/2 mile from the runway 24 threshold. A majority of the airplane came to rest in the westernmost rooms of the house, and a large portion of the outboard left wing came to rest on an adjacent brick wall. A postimpact fire ensued, and most of the airframe was consumed by the fire. The engine came to rest in an upright and nose low position. The firewall and instrument panel remained attached to the engine and exhibited extensive thermal damage. All three propeller blades remained attached at the hub but were separated at the blade root. Two blades were completely separated and only the balance tube was present; one of the balance tubes was bent aft at about a 45° angle, and the second balance tube was bent slightly. Only about 1/3 of the blade root remained on the third propeller. The blade root exhibited heavy thermal damage, and about 2/3 of the outboard blade was not present. The airframe parachute risers and suspension lines were draped over a nearby palm tree and the parachute came to rest in a neighboring yard. The slider was observed at the base of the parachute and the beeswax coating on the vent lines at the apex of the parachute canopy remained stuck together, consistent with a packed state.
The postaccident airframe and engine examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Of the remaining airframe structure, the rudder, elevator, left wing root, and left-wing spar exhibited thermal damage. The flight controls were heavily damaged with some fragments consumed by fire; however, continuity was established amongst the remaining control cables.
The engine was covered in fire-related debris. The intake system exhibited some thermal damage and fire-related debris was noted within some of the tubing. The spark plugs were removed and exhibited normal operating signatures. The crankshaft was rotated by hand; thumb compression was established throughout, and the valves moved accordingly. The ignition harness was mostly intact but exhibited thermal damage. The right magneto was removed from the engine and produced spark. The left magneto was disassembled, and the timing gear was found melted; the remaining internal components were consistent with normal operation. Borescope examination of the piston heads, cylinder walls, valves, and lower spark plugs revealed normal operating signatures. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATIONAn autopsy was performed on the pilot by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Coroner Division, San Bernardino, California. The pilot's cause of death was listed as thermal injuries with smoke inhalation.
NMS Labs performed toxicological testing at the request of the coroner. This testing measured elevated carboxyhemoglobin of 34% in the pilot's heart blood (nonsmokers normally have carboxyhemoglobin levels of less than 1-3%, while heavy smokers may normally have levels as high as 10-15%). The testing also detected caffeine in the pilot's heart blood.
The Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory measured elevated carboxyhemoglobin of 21% in heart blood, and also detected cyanide in heart blood at 2.13 micrograms per milliliter (µg/mL)