History of Flight
On November 26, 2019, at about 1730 Pacific standard time, a Cirrus SR-22 airplane, N7GA, was destroyed in an accident near North Las Vegas, Nevada. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot filed and activated a visual flight rules flight plan from Lake Havasu City Airport (HII), Lake Havasu, Arizona, to North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Review of recorded communication and transcripts revealed that at 1720:23, the pilot contacted Nellis Air Traffic Control Facility and reported an altitude of 6,500 ft and that he had "information papa." The controller advised the pilot that the transmission was "broken" and confirmed the information. The pilot requested a practice instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 12 left, which the controller acknowledged.
At 1723:48, the controller instructed the pilot to turn left heading 270° due to a departure of a flight of four F-35s climbing through 2,200 ft. The pilot acknowledged. At 1724:40, the controller instructed a left turn to heading 240°, which the pilot read back, adding he had the last F-35 in sight. At 1725:30, the controller instructed heading 280°, and then advised that four F-22s would depart runway 21 climbing north. The pilot responded he was searching. At 1726:03, the pilot verified the runway for the F-22s. The controller affirmed and instructed heading 310°. At 1726:54, the controller instructed a right turn to heading 360°, followed by a left turn to heading 270° at 1727:58. Five seconds later, the controller instructed "N7GA, altitude your discretion," which the pilot acknowledged. At 1729:52, the pilot stated, "we're getting a low altitude alert for N7GA, we gotta turn left." The controller then instructed "turn left heading 250°," which the pilot acknowledged. No further communications were received despite multiple attempts.
Recorded radar data showed the airplane on a west-northwesterly heading at about 6,500 ft msl with groundspeed varying between 161 and 171 knots until radar contact was lost in the area of Gass Peak.
Personnel Information
The pilot's personal logbook was not located. A digital logbook from ForeFlight contained entries from April 20, 1986, through November 12, 2019, totaling 246.5 hours of flight experience. On his most recent FAA medical application dated February 22, 2019, the pilot reported 446.7 hours of flight experience, with 2.4 hours in the previous 6 months. The pilot and airplane were based at North Las Vegas Airport.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was equipped with an Aspen PDF1000 Pro display, which was not equipped with terrain avoidance alerts. It also had an Avidyne FlightMax EX5000C multi-function color display. It was not determined if the EX5000C was configured with an optional terrain awareness warning system. The pilot had a ForeFlight Pro Plus subscription, which included access to the Hazard Advisor feature (requiring an Apple iPad with cellular or external GPS) and Synthetic Vision (requiring a compatible AHRS device).
Meteorological Information
Official sunset occurred at 1627, with end of civil twilight at 1655. The moon was in a new moon phase.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted terrain about 400 ft below the summit of Gass Peak, near the last recorded radar target, at an elevation of about 6,500 ft mean sea level. The wreckage was fragmented and mostly consumed by a postimpact fire. Examination of the recovered airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preexisting mechanical malfunction that would have precluded normal operation.
Additional Information
FAA order JO 7110.65Y, Air Traffic Control, paragraph 7-6-1 describes basic radar services for VFR aircraft, including safety alerts, traffic advisories, limited radar vectoring when requested, and sequencing. Paragraph 2-1-6 describes safety alerts: controllers issue a safety alert if aware the aircraft is in unsafe proximity to terrain, obstructions, or other aircraft. The Aeronautical Information Manual, paragraph 4-1-18, states that VFR radar services do not relieve pilots of responsibility to see and avoid traffic, maintain terrain clearance, and remain in VFR conditions.