N758NH

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On August 10, 2008, about 1223 mountain daylight time, a Cessna R172K, N758NH, and a Cirrus SR22, N8341, collided in midair about 5 nautical miles northwest of the Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming. Both airplanes were destroyed by impact damage and fire. The student pilot, sole occupant of the Cessna, and the private pilot and passenger in the Cirrus were killed. The Cessna was registered to, and operated by, Franklin Aviation, Rock Springs. The Cirrus was registered to Renard Argent, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. Both airplanes were operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The Cessna departed Rock Springs Airport about 1155 on a local solo instructional flight for the purpose of practicing maneuvers; no flight plan was filed. The Cirrus departed Polson, Montana, about 0955, on a personal cross-country flight to Rock Springs; an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed and activated.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot of the Cirrus contacted Salt Lake Center sector 19 at 0957, requesting an IFR clearance from Polson to Rock Springs. The flight was cleared to Rock Springs and assigned an altitude of 13,000 feet mean sea level (msl). At 1033, the pilot requested and received clearance to 15,000 feet msl. The flight continued uneventfully, and was handed off to Salt Lake Center sector 5 at 1203. At 1215, the pilot requested a lower altitude and was cleared to 10,000 feet msl. The controller issued the RKS altimeter setting and advised the pilot to expect a visual approach. At 1219, the pilot reported the airport in sight and was cleared for the visual approach. The sector 5 radar controller issued traffic advisories for numerous targets in the vicinity of Rock Springs and approved a change to advisory frequency, advising the pilot to cancel his IFR flight plan on his frequency or through Flight Service. The pilot responded by stating, "all right 8341 will start a report over your frequency when I get the other targets any idea what they are using there for runways?" At 1220:20, the controller stated that he did not know which runway was in use, and issued the current surface wind report for Rock Springs. The controller then issued another traffic advisory, advisory stating, “right now I’m showing one target it’s ah ah will be your eleven oclock your one oclock and ah about one zero miles north ah well primarily eastbound east north eastbound altitude indicates niner thousand five hundred." At 1220:47, the pilot responded, "8341 thank you." There was no further contact with the Cirrus.

Radar data was provided by the FAA and was obtained from the Rock Springs Air Route Surveillance Radar, located approximately 15 miles south of the airport. The data indicates that the Cessna was maneuvering northwest of the Rock Springs Airport, and the Cirrus was approaching the airport from the northwest while descending. Between 1219:59 and 1220:28, the Cessna completed a 180 degree turn from a southwesterly heading to a northeasterly heading. From 1220:27 to 1222:22, the Cessna maintained a northeasterly heading, climbed from 9,300 to 9,800 feet msl, and leveled out. About 1222:22, the Cessna turned approximately 20 to 30 degrees right and continued on that heading, level at 9,800 feet msl, until the last radar return recorded at 1222:42. From 1220:27 to 1222:42, the Cirrus descended from 11,300 to 9,700 feet msl on a heading of about 130 degrees magnetic. The data depict the two airplanes converging nearly perpendicular to one another. From 1220:50 to 1222:42, the Cirrus had an average ground speed of 195 knots and was descending at an average rate of 740 feet per minute. The Cessna had an average ground speed of 108 knots for the same time frame. The data suggests the collision took place about 1222:52, at an altitude of about 9,800 feet msl or about 3,300 feet above ground level (agl).

According to local authorities, several witnesses reported seeing a cloud of smoke and flaming debris falling to the ground.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The Cessna pilot, age 54, held a third-class medical and student pilot certificate that was issued on January 1, 2008. The certificate was issued with the limitation: must have glasses available for near vision. On the back of the certificate, there were endorsements for solo flight in Cessna R172K airplanes and for solo cross-country flight in airplanes dated April 10, 2008, and May 1, 2008, respectively.

Review of the Cessna pilot's logbook revealed that he had accumulated 64.3 hours of total flight time of which 11.6 hours were solo. All of the pilot's flight time was in the accident airplane. He had flown 9 hours in the 30 days preceding the accident. His most recent flight before the accident occurred on August 9, 2008; the flight was a local solo flight that lasted 2.0 hours.

According to the Cessna pilot's flight instructor, during the accident flight, the student pilot was to "review steep turns and possibly slow flight and stalls." The maneuvers were to be performed at an altitude of 9,000 feet msl. The instructor had previously practiced these maneuvers "as well as clearing turns before each maneuver and scanning techniques" during dual instructional flights with the student; their most recent flight together was on August 8, 2008.

The Cirrus pilot, age 67, held a private pilot certificate with single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. His most recent first-class medical certificate was issued on April 25, 2007, with the limitation: must wear corrective lenses. On January 2, 2008, he completed a biennial flight review in the accident airplane.

Review of the Cirrus pilot's logbook revealed that he had accumulated 1,434.8 hours of total flight time of which 1,316.4 hours were as pilot-in-command. The pilot had flown 671.3 hours in Cirrus SR22 airplanes. He had flown 22 hours in the 30 days preceding the accident.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

Examination of the Cessna's maintenance records indicated that the 1979 model Cessna Hawk XP II received its most recent annual inspection on May 10, 2008, at a total time of 8,367.7 hours. As of that date, the engine, a Continental IO-360-AcKB, had accumulated 1,652.3 hours since major overhaul. Review of the maintenance records revealed no evidence of any uncorrected maintenance discrepancies.

The airplane was equipped with a Cessna 300 series avionics package that included, in part, two RT385A COM/NAV units and an RT359A transponder. Additionally, the airplane was equipped with a Narco AR850 altitude encoder providing Mode C capability to the transponder. The transponder antenna was mounted on the bottom of the fuselage.

The maintenance logbooks for the Cirrus were not located during the investigation. The airplane's maintenance history was established from work orders obtained from maintenance facilities where work had been performed on the airplane. Examination of these records indicated that the 2006 model Cirrus SR22 G3 received its most recent annual inspection on September 17, 2007, at a Hobbs meter time of 155.4 hours. As of that date, the engine, a Continental IO-550-N, had also accumulated 155.4 hours. The most recent maintenance action documented was performed on June 13, 2008, at a Hobbs meter time of 298.8 hours, and included an engine oil change and compliance with several service bulletins. Review of the work orders revealed no evidence of any uncorrected maintenance discrepancies.

The airplane was equipped with an Avidyne Entegra EXP5000 Primary Flight Display (PFD) and an Avidyne Entegra EX5000 Multi-Function Display (MFD). Its avionics included two Garmin GNS430 GPS/COM/NAV units, a Garmin GMA340 Audio Panel, a Garmin GTX 327 Mode C transponder, and a Honeywell KGP 560 Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS).

Additionally, the airplane was equipped with an L-3 Avionics Systems SkyWatch SKY497 Traffic Advisory System. According to the supplemental flight manual for the Skywatch, the purpose of the system was "to advise the pilot of transponder equipped aircraft that may pose a collision threat." The supplemental flight manual stated that the SkyWatch monitors a radius of approximately 6 nautical miles around the aircraft by interrogating transponders in the monitored area and determining if a collision threat exists. To determine if a collision threat exists, the unit calculates the range, altitude, bearing, and closure rate of all transponder equipped aircraft within the 6 nautical mile range. When the unit detects an intruder aircraft within 0.55 nautical mile horizontal distance and plus or minus 800 feet relative altitude or detects an intruder aircraft is on a course that will intercept the Skywatch airplane's course within 20 seconds (non-altitude reporting intruder aircraft) or 30 seconds (altitude reporting intruder aircraft), the unit will issue a Traffic Advisory (TA). TAs are indicated on the Avidyne MFD display and aural "Traffic, Traffic" warnings are announced in the headphones and cabin speaker.

According to maintenance records for the Cirrus, the Skywatch was removed, sent in for a "VIP [Verbal Intruder Positioning] upgrade" and reinstalled on September 17, 2007. According to L-3 Avionics personnel, the upgrade provided an extended audio callout capability. In addition to the "Traffic, Traffic" aural warning, the upgraded unit announced the relative bearing, relative altitude and distance of the intruder aircraft. The Skywatch was wired so that it turned on whenever power was applied to the airplane's avionics non-essential bus. There was a circuit breaker in the line, and the pilot could turn off the unit by pulling the circuit breaker. The antenna for the Skywatch was installed on top of the fuselage.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

At 1254, the reported weather conditions at RKS were wind variable at 4 knots; vis...