History of Flight
On April 2, 2023, at 0950 Pacific daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR22, registration N424SW, was destroyed in an accident near Oxbow, Oregon. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The flight departed Caldwell Executive Airport (EUL), Caldwell, Idaho, about 0930 under visual flight rules, with an intended destination of Lewiston Nez/Perce County Airport (LWS), Lewiston, Idaho. About 0934, while heading north at 11,400 ft msl, the pilot contacted Big Sky Approach Control and requested flight following. The controller issued a discrete transponder code but did not provide an altimeter setting and did not radar identify N424SW. No further communication occurred.
ADS-B data showed the airplane climbed from 11,400 ft to 14,100 ft msl on a northerly heading, then descended and maintained 13,900 ft msl for about 6 minutes. It then entered a sharp left turn to the southwest, increasing groundspeed to 205 kts. After the turn, groundspeed varied between 133 kts and 205 kts. At one point, the airplane was at 12,300 ft msl heading 246° magnetic with a groundspeed of 205 kts.
Witnesses on the ground heard the airplane but could not see it or a 4,500 ft mountain peak due to cloud obscuration. Another witness observed the airplane descending rapidly through clouds in a nose-down attitude before impacting mountainous terrain. A post-impact fire ensued, extinguished by area precipitation. Another witness reported seeing an empty parachute descending through the clouds about 6 minutes after impact.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating issued November 12, 2022. The pilot's logbook was not recovered. At his medical examination on August 31, 2022, he reported zero total hours of civil flight experience. ForeFlight records indicated he had accumulated 25.8 hours in the accident airplane as of January 11, 2023. No additional flight experience or endorsements were recorded.
Aircraft Information
The airplane's maintenance logs were onboard at impact; the propeller and engine logbooks were not recovered. The airframe logbook showed the last annual inspection on November 29, 2022, at 925.8 hours. An entry referred to securing CAPS ignition wiring rubbing on elevator cables and compliance with an Independent Component Analysis for the O2 system. An earlier inspection on May 19, 2022, at 810.7 hours indicated pitot and TKS routing inspection and TKS filter replacement. The manufacturer's Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) prohibited flight into known icing conditions. The airplane was equipped with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) and TKS anti-ice system.
Meteorological Information
The pilot received a weather briefing from ForeFlight at 0800 PDT, including G-AIRMETs for IFR conditions, mountain obscuration, and moderate icing to 14,000 ft msl. The Graphical Forecast for Aviation indicated broken to overcast clouds with bases between 7,000 and 9,000 ft and tops between 17,000 and 18,000 ft msl. Winds at 12,000 ft were from 260° at 31 kts, temperature -19°C; at 18,000 ft, winds from 260° at 59 kts, temperature -29°C. Analysis by an NTSB meteorologist suggested clouds from 4,000 ft through 14,000 ft msl. Icing products indicated trace to moderate airframe icing.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane impacted mountainous terrain at about 2,436 ft elevation on a 33° slope. The wreckage was highly fragmented and sustained thermal damage. The main wreckage site was roughly 328 ft in diameter with an impact crater about 30 ft by 22 ft and 4 ft deep. All control surfaces were recovered. The top half of the vertical stabilizer and rudder were found about 1 mile north of the main wreckage. Damage signatures were consistent with an object severing the upper section. No downed powerlines were found. The CAPS parachute separated and landed in the Snake River; it was not recovered. The airplane's VNE was 201 KIAS, and VPD was 133 KIAS.
Flight Recorders
An Aerosance recoverable data module (RDM) installed in the tail recorded flight data at 1 Hz. The outer shell was damaged, and the internal memory card had data files dated December 31, 2000, which were corrupted and could not be converted. The manufacturer stated this was a common issue, and no accident-related data was recovered.
Medical and Pathological Information
Due to the condition of the pilot's remains, no autopsy was performed. The Baker County Medical Examiner documented the cause of death as blunt force trauma and manner as accident.