What happened
On September 25, 2024, at 18:33 CDT, a Cirrus SR22, registration N565CP, was involved in an accident near Lakeway, Texas. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal use.
The pilot entered the traffic pattern at Lakeway Airpark (3R9) and intended to land on runway 34 due to reported winds of 030 degrees at 10 knots gusting to 16 knots. During the base leg of the approach, the pilot extended full flaps and reduced power to 30%. While on final approach, after clearing powerlines perpendicular to the runway, the pilot executed a steeper approach. After passing the displaced threshold, the aircraft's nose suddenly pitched down. Although the pilot increased power, the aircraft bounced and veered off the left side of the runway.
The aircraft continued off the runway and struck a tree before coming to rest in a grassy area between two residences. The impact resulted in one serious injury and one minor injury to the occupants; there were no fatalities. During the accident sequence, the engine and the left wing separated from the airframe.
The investigation
An FAA inspector and representatives from Cirrus Aircraft observed three distant gouges in the runway caused by the landing gear during the bounced landing. The flap actuator position indicated that the flaps were fully extended at the time of the accident. The aircraft was equipped with a Garmin G1000 Integrated Flight Deck and a Heads Up Technologies recoverable data module (RDM) data recorder. The aircraft was retained for further examination, and flight data from the onboard devices were downloaded for review.