Cirrus SR-22 Emergency Parachute Deployment Near San Sebastián (EC-KOJ)

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On Saturday, 11 October 2008, at approximately 12:05 local time, a private Cirrus SR-22 G3-GTS with registration EC-KOJ experienced an accident in the vicinity of San Sebastián Airport in Guipúzcoa. The aircraft was powered by a single Continental IO-550-N engine. The pilot in command was a 42-year-old private pilot with 920 total flight hours and 380 hours on type. The flight was a general aviation pleasure flight carrying the pilot and two passengers. ## Flight Sequence and Emergency Response The aircraft departed Huesca Airport runway 12 for a visual flight to San Sebastián. The flight proceeded normally until the aircraft crossed the Peñas de Aia mountain range, where atmospheric turbulence began. Turbulence intensified during descent past the VOR, destabilizing the aircraft at approximately 3,000 feet. The pilot deployed the aircraft's emergency parachute. The aircraft came to rest in a near-vertical attitude, nose pointing toward the ground, supported by vegetation and suspended from telephone cables. The aircraft did not touch the ground. ## Damage and Injuries The aircraft sustained significant damage to the cockpit, the right fuselage area at the right wing root, and the right wing. All three occupants were uninjured. No other damage was reported. ## Meteorological and Operational Context The pilot had consulted METAR, TAFOR, and Meteosat imagery before the flight, noting good conditions at the destination for the morning with deterioration expected later. The pilot intended to climb to 10,000 feet to avoid low-level winds and then descend for an instrument approach. At 10,000 feet, GPS indicated winds of approximately 50 knots. During descent at 7,000 feet, the pilot heard a commercial aircraft report heavy turbulence. At 5,000 feet, instruments indicated winds of 38 to 42 knots, while tower information reported runway winds around 8 knots. The approach to San Sebastián runway 04 follows a valley with the Peñas de Aia range to the southeast and Monte Jaizquibel to the northeast. With southerly to south-easterly winds, the leeward side of Monte Aiako Harria is particularly prone to turbulence, and the VOR is located on the western slope where turbulent activity is greatest. ## Probable Cause The investigation concluded that the probable cause was loss of control in flight due to severe atmospheric turbulence during approach to runway 22 at San Sebastián Airport. The emergency parachute was assessed to have been deployed below its guaranteed operating altitude of 2,000 feet above ground level, as the aircraft did not reach the ground in a horizontal position.