N404PE

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 22, 2019, about 1254 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N404PE, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Burnsville, North Carolina. The commercial pilot and student pilot passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that he completed a cross-country flight earlier the day of the accident. Before departing on the return flight, he serviced the airplane with fuel, reviewed the weather, and confirmed that there were no changes from the weather briefing he had received that morning.

After departure, the pilot was incrementally cleared to climb to 17,000 ft mean sea level (msl). The pilot noted both visually and on his onboard NEXRAD radar display that "thunderstorms were building with cumulonimbus clouds along the route of flight." The controller advised a 30° left turn when the clearance to 17,000 ft was issued, and the pilot "believed" the new course and altitude would place the airplane "on top of the build-up" and "between the two cells." Shortly thereafter, the controller advised the pilot of areas of moderate-to-heavy precipitation. The pilot replied that he could see the areas of precipitation on the airplane’s weather radar and that he would request additional assistance if needed. The controller subsequently cleared the pilot to “deviate left and right as necessary.”

The pilot reported that, as the airplane approached the developing weather system, the NEXRAD display showed the airplane's path between the two cells and that the airplane would penetrate clouds that "did not appear dangerous." Upon entry into the clouds, the airplane encountered "very strong" turbulence. At that time, the pilot disabled the autopilot and leveled the wings "with a climbing attitude." The airplane was below the clouds, and the pilot could see that the airplane was heading toward a mountain.

The pilot initiated a climb to avoid the mountain when the engine stopped producing power. The pilot then decided that there was not sufficient time to attempt to troubleshoot and chose instead to deploy the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). In a telephone interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector, the passenger, who held a student pilot certificate and was seated in the left seat, stated he and the pilot had been "making that trip for 4.5 years." He said that when the airplane penetrated the clouds, the flight became "rough" and the airplane "stalled because of the weather." The passenger stated that the airplane was in a spin when it descended below the base of the clouds, and the pilot then deployed the CAPS. The passenger stated that he was flying the airplane at the time it entered the clouds, and that the pilot joined him on the controls after the loss of control.

Engine and GPS data recovered from the airplane’s multifunction display (MFD) revealed that, after departure, the airplane climbed to 16,800 ft pressure altitude and remained at that altitude for several minutes. About 1248:24, the airplane entered a sharp, steep, descending right turn. The data indicated an 11,050-ft loss of altitude over approximately 36 seconds, while manifold pressure, fuel flow, and exhaust gas temperatures (EGT) all decreased. The loss of altitude was arrested at 5,237 ft, and the data indicated that the airplane climbed to 8,275 ft following the recovery. At the top of the climb following recovery, EGT and engine rpm values fell to those consistent with a loss of engine power, and another descent was depicted.

Figure 1. Cruise Flight and Descent Profiles (GPS plots in UTC)

According to the airplane manufacturer, the descent rates stabilized about 1249:36 were consistent with a descent under parachute.

During the initial descent, engine rpm increased to 3,220 rpm, which was 520 rpm above the engine manufacturer’s maximum limit of 2,700 rpm.

The airplane came to rest in trees on Mount Mitchell (elevation 6,684 ft msl), was recovered from the accident site by helicopter, and then retained for further examination.

PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single engine and instrument airplane. He was issued a second-class medical certificate on March 13, 2019. The pilot reported 5,343 total hours of flight experience, of which 1,907 were in the accident airplane make and model.

The student pilot passenger was issued his student pilot and third-class medical certificate on November 5, 2004. He reported 15 total hours of flight experience on that date.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe four-seat, single-engine, low-wing, fixed-gear airplane was manufactured in 2007 and equipped with a Continental TSIO-550-K1B, 315-horsepower reciprocating engine. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on June 28, 2019, at 3,187 total aircraft hours.

The airplane was equipped with an Avidyne Entegra EXP5000 primary flight display and an EX5000 multifunction display.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONA Convective SIGMET with an area of embedded thunderstorms moving from 240° at 25 knots with cloud tops to 40,000 ft, AIRMET Sierra for IFR conditions, and AIRMET Zulu for icing above 12,000 – 14,000 ft were in effect along the airplane's route of flight.

The pilot reported that he was aware of the Convective SIGMETs valid for the route of flight.

Weather radar mosaic imagery created from Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) data was available to the pilots in the cockpit via the flight information service-broadcast and private satellite weather service providers. Due to latencies inherent in processes used to detect and deliver the NEXRAD data from the ground site to the service provider, as well as the time intervals used for the mosaic-creation process set by the service provider, NEXRAD data can age significantly by the time the mosaic image is created. In extreme latency and mosaic-creation scenarios, the actual age of the oldest NEXRAD data in the mosaic can exceed the age indication in the cockpit by 15 to 20 minutes.

Examination of the airplane’s flight track overlaid in base reflectivity imagery as seen in figure 2 revealed that the airplane entered an area of echoes of approximately 40dBZ and greater, and abruptly turned to its right and descended rapidly from 17,000 ft about 1249.

AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe four-seat, single-engine, low-wing, fixed-gear airplane was manufactured in 2007 and equipped with a Continental TSIO-550-K1B, 315-horsepower reciprocating engine. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on June 28, 2019, at 3,187 total aircraft hours.

The airplane was equipped with an Avidyne Entegra EXP5000 primary flight display and an EX5000 multifunction display.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONExamination of photographs revealed damage to the nose landing gear, cowling, and the airframe skin where the parachute’s risers tore free during its deployment.

Figure 3 – View of Airplane as Found (courtesy U.S. Park Service)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONAfter recovery, an engine run was attempted on the airframe, and it was unsuccessful. The magnetos were replaced, and the engine subsequently started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption.

The magnetos were disassembled, and the internal damage displayed by each was consistent throughout. The magneto rotating magnets each had fractured pieces separated just below the pinion drive gears. The plastic drive gear driven by the pinion gear in each magneto displayed stripped and fractured teeth.

Figure 4. View of Left Magneto During Disassembly (courtesy Myers Aviation)

Figure 5. View of Right Magneto During Disassembly (courtesy Myers Aviation)