Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's improper decision to land the airplane with a quartering, gusting tailwind and his subsequent failure to flare the airplane and maintain directional control after it bounced, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On April 19, 2015, about 1455 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corp. SR22, N88AX, was substantially damaged when it impacted a parked airplane, a house, and trees during the landing at Pine Shadows Airpark (94FL), Fort Myers, Florida. The private pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight originated at Key West International Airport (EWY), Key West, Florida.According to the pilot, he listened to the weather information at Page Field Airport (FMY), Fort Myers, Florida, which was about 9 miles to the south of the accident location and elected to land on runway 09, a 3,200-foot-long, 50-foot-wide asphalt runway. He made visual contact with the runway about 1 mile from the airport. During the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, the airplane had a "steeper angle descent" to the runway when a crosswind "push[ed]" the airplane to the left. In addition, during the landing he did not flare the airplane, which resulted in a "bounce." The pilot added full throttle in an attempt to perform a go-around maneuver, but the airplane was off the runway "sliding towards [a] road and hangar." Then the pilot retarded the engine throttle, attempted to "straighten" out the landing roll, however, the airplane struck a tree, a parked airplane, a house, became airborne again, struck more trees, and finally came to rest upright near a house. All four occupants egressed without injury.
The 1453 automated weather observation at FMY, included winds from 210 degrees at 13 knots, gusting to 20 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 29 degrees C, dew point 22 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.91 inches of mercury.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector that responded to the accident location, the airplane came to rest approximately 2,500 feet from the initial touch down point. The fuselage and wings were substantially damaged in the accident sequence. In addition, the empennage was separated from the fuselage.
The pilot reported in the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report, Form 6120.1, that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In addition, under the Operator/Owner Safety Recommendation section of the form, he stated that he would "fly over the field, evaluate wind sock, and longer approach flight pattern."
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ERA15LA192