Flight Information
The flight departed Molėtai aerodrome at 15:47 local time en route to Neringa. The pilot filed a flight plan stating destination as 'Bulvikiai' with Nida aerodrome coordinates. The flight plan instructor warned that Nida and Šilutė aerodromes were closed. The aircraft carried a pilot and a passenger; the passenger had been receiving flight training on the Cirrus SR22. Both stated the pilot was flying.
Accident Description
The pilot made two landing approaches to runway 260° but abandoned due to tailwind. On the third approach, they elected to land on runway 08. With flaps extended 100% and speed 75-80 knots, the descent was stable at 500 ft/min. Shortly before the runway threshold, the aircraft experienced a strong downdraft, causing the nose wheel to strike the runway surface hard. The nose gear collapsed and separated. The aircraft bounced, traveled 64 meters, and impacted the runway again, causing the right main gear to collapse. The aircraft then slid on its belly and right wingtip, turning right, and came to rest on the right safety strip. The left main gear also collapsed during the slide.
Injuries and Damage
The passenger sustained minor injuries and was treated at Neringa Primary Health Care Center, then released for outpatient care. The pilot was uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage including fractured landing gear, damaged propeller blades, engine cowling, control cables, and fuselage structure. No fire occurred. No damage to third parties.
Weather and Aerodrome
At the time, wind was from 113° at 5-6 m/s, gusting 7-8 m/s. Visibility exceeded 10 km. Temperature 26.6°C, dew point 19.9°C. Nida Aerodrome is non-operational and only open to helicopters. The asphalt runway is 850 m long and 30 m wide, surrounded by 10-15 m tall forest. Approach to runway 80° has a 30 m clearance from trees to the threshold.
Pilot Information
The 37-year-old pilot held a valid private pilot license issued by the Czech Civil Aviation Administration, with SEP land and PA46 ratings, and a valid ultralight license. He had 624 total flight hours, including 40 hours on Cirrus SR20/SR22. His last proficiency check was on 17 January 2008.
Aircraft Information
The Cirrus SR22-GTS G3 (serial 22-3080, built 2008) was registered LY-WWW, owned by UAB 'SEB Lizingas' and operated by UAB 'Vilsarma'. It had 154.6 total hours. The engine was a Teledyne Continental IO550 N 48B, propeller Hartzell PHC-J3UF-1RF. The aircraft was equipped with Garmin Perspective Avionics; no flight data or cockpit voice recorders were installed.
Manual Warning
The aircraft flight manual includes a warning in the Stall section: 'Particular care must be taken to avoid uncoordinated, accelerating, or abrupt control inputs when the aircraft speed is near stall speed, especially when flying close to the ground.'