N477TC

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn February 28, 2016, about 0859 central standard time, a Cirrus SR-20, N477TC, collided with terrain following a loss of control near the Navasota Municipal Airport (60R), Navasota, Texas. The flight instructor, the non-certificated pilot/owner who was receiving instruction, and the two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to Air Akhtar Heating & Air Conditioning LLC and was operated by the pilot/owner under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The instructional flight originated from the David Wayne Hook Airport (DWH), Spring, Texas, at 0818.

Radar data indicated that after departing DWH, the airplane turned northwest toward 60R. The last DWH air traffic control communication with the airplane was at 0821. Radar data indicated that the airplane subsequently entered a left downwind to runway 17 at 60R about 0836. The airplane turned onto base leg, turned onto final approach, and descended below radar coverage; at 0837:51, the airplane was on final approach to runway 17.

At 0839:37, radar data indicated a target about 0.75 nautical mile (nm) south of runway 17 at an altitude of 800 ft mean sea level (msl) that was consistent with the airplane having executed a touch-and-go landing on runway 17. The radar data indicated that the airplane then conducted a second touch-and-go landing before conducting a full stop landing about 0844:46. A still photo from a security camera at 60R, an uncontrolled airport, showed the airplane taxiing north on the taxiway at 0847:26.

At 0850:58 the airplane departed 60R, entered a left downwind for runway 17, and executed a second full stop landing. By 0858:51, the airplane had departed runway 17 and was climbing on a south heading.

Data recovered from the airplane's primary flight display (PFD) showed the same flight path as the radar data. In addition to GPS position and altitude, the PFD also recorded other parameters including airspeed, pitch, and roll attitudes. The PFD data indicated that, at 0859:02, while the airplane was climbing through 550 ft msl and about 92 knots indicated airspeed, it began to roll to the left and decelerate. Starting at 0859:06, the airplane started to pitch down and descend. At 0859:10, the airspeed decreased below 75 knots. At 0859:13, the airspeed had increased to about 79 knots, and the airplane had reached 61° left-wing-down before starting a rapid roll to the right, through an inverted position. At about the same time, the airplane began a rapid pitch down, reaching a 69° nose-down attitude.

Radar contact was lost at 0859:15 when the airplane was about .43 nm southeast of the departure end of runway 17 and about 0.16 nm from the accident site. The PFD data continued, and it showed that the airplane briefly recovered to nearly wings level at 0859:18, but then it began to pitch down again. The final data point recorded by the PFD was at 0859:19, and it showed the airplane in a 65° nose-down and 45° right-wing-down attitude at 268 ft msl and 89 knots indicated airspeed. There were no known witnesses to the accident.

At 0904:14, radar data indicated that another airplane departed runway 17 at 60R and completed one complete circle around the accident location descending from 1,300 ft msl to 600 ft msl before climbing and resuming a downwind entry to runway 17. The pilot of this airplane reported that he was practicing touch-and-go landings when he spotted the wreckage southeast of the airport. He subsequently reported the accident to local authorities. The pilot stated that he did not hear or see the accident airplane in the area before seeing the wreckage. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe flight instructor's logbook(s) were not located during the investigation. On the application for his last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical dated January 15, 2016, he reported having a total of 6,550 hours of flight time; 120 of those hours were flown within the previous 6 months. It is unknown how much experience he had in SR-20 airplanes before flying with the airplane owner.

The airplane owner, who was receiving flight instruction, did not hold a student pilot or medical certificate. He had taken a FAA medical examination on October 20, 2015. Due to the pilot's history of arrests, the aviation medical examiner deferred issuing a medical certificate. The FAA requested additional information, which the owner did not supply. On January 20, 2016, the FAA sent a letter to the owner notifying him that they could not determine his eligibility for a medical certificate.

According to the owner's pilot logbook, he had a total of 106 hours of flight time of which 57.1 hours were in SR-20 airplanes. The owner had previously flown with the flight instructor on 11 dual instructional flights, which totaled 25.7 hours. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane, serial number 1378, was a four-place, low-wing, single-engine airplane with fixed landing gear. The airplane was manufactured in 2003 and equipped with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). The owner purchased the airplane on January 12, 2016.

Maintenance records indicated that the last annual inspection on the airframe was completed on January 12, 2016, at a total airplane and Hobbs meter time of 431.5 hours. The Hobbs meter at the time of the accident indicated 487.2 hours.

The airplane was equipped with a 210-horsepower, Continental Motors IO-360-ES6B engine, serial number 357628. The last annual inspection of the engine was completed on January 12, 2016, at an airframe total time of 431.5 hours. The last maintenance entry in the engine logbook was an oil and oil filter change on February 26, 2016, at an airframe total time of 481.6 hours.

There were no entries in the engine logbook showing that the engine had been overhauled or torn down; however, during the postaccident engine examination it was discovered that the crankshaft and bearings were not the original parts installed when the engine was manufactured in 2003. The owner of the maintenance facility that performed the most recent annual inspections stated that the engine had been removed for a teardown inspection for metal contamination in April 2015. Records of the teardown inspection provided by the maintenance facility and the engine overhaul facility that performed the teardown inspection indicated that the engine overhaul facility completed the teardown inspection on August 17, 2015. A copy of the logbook entry prepared by the engine overhaul facility stated, in part, that the engine was "disassembled for metal contamination due to #6 piston burnt, replace cracked crankshaft with customer supplied New VAR crankshaft, repair 6ea.cylinders as necessary." The owner of the maintenance facility stated that the facility provided the previous airplane owner with the information and records for the engine logbook.

The airplane was fueled twice the day before the accident. The time on the fuel receipt indicated that the last fueling took place at 1655 when the airplane was fueled with 22.6 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. According to the operator who fueled the airplane, the fuel added had topped-off the fuel tanks. It is not known if the airplane was flown between the last fueling and the accident flight.

Cirrus Aircraft performed stall speed calculations for the airplane. The calculations showed that, at gross weights of 2,904 pounds (full fuel) and 2,688 pounds (20 gallons of fuel), the flaps up stall speeds at 1g would have been 78 knots calibrated airspeed (KCAS) and 75 KCAS, respectively. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane, serial number 1378, was a four-place, low-wing, single-engine airplane with fixed landing gear. The airplane was manufactured in 2003 and equipped with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). The owner purchased the airplane on January 12, 2016.

Maintenance records indicated that the last annual inspection on the airframe was completed on January 12, 2016, at a total airplane and Hobbs meter time of 431.5 hours. The Hobbs meter at the time of the accident indicated 487.2 hours.

The airplane was equipped with a 210-horsepower, Continental Motors IO-360-ES6B engine, serial number 357628. The last annual inspection of the engine was completed on January 12, 2016, at an airframe total time of 431.5 hours. The last maintenance entry in the engine logbook was an oil and oil filter change on February 26, 2016, at an airframe total time of 481.6 hours.

There were no entries in the engine logbook showing that the engine had been overhauled or torn down; however, during the postaccident engine examination it was discovered that the crankshaft and bearings were not the original parts installed when the engine was manufactured in 2003. The owner of the maintenance facility that performed the most recent annual inspections stated that the engine had been removed for a teardown inspection for metal contamination in April 2015. Records of the teardown inspection provided by the maintenance facility and the engine overhaul facility that performed the teardown inspection indicated that the engine overhaul facility completed the teardown inspection on August 17, 2015. A copy of the logbook entry prepared by the engine overhaul facility stated, in part, that the engine was "disassembled for metal contamination due to #6 piston burnt, replace cracked crankshaft with customer supplied New VAR crankshaft, repair 6ea.cylinders as necessary." The owner of the maintenance facility stated that the facility provided the previous airplane owner with the information and records for the engine logbook.

The airplane was fueled twice the day before the accident. The time on the fuel receipt indicated that the last fueling took place at 1655 when the airplane was fueled with 22.6 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. According to the operator who fueled the airplan...