N17DT

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 22, 2023, at 1646 eastern standard time, a Cirrus SR22T, N17DT, was involved in an accident near Fairland, Indiana. The airplane was destroyed. The flight instructor and private pilot were fatally injured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as an instructional flight.

The owner of an aircraft sales and acquisition company stated that he provided services for the pilot to purchase the airplane. On November 13, 2023, the purchase transaction was closed while the airplane was at Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU), Greenville, South Carolina. The pilot hired the flight instructor to move the airplane from GMU to Monroe County Airport (BMG), Bloomington, Indiana, on November 19, 2023. The pilot had planned on flying with the flight instructor on November 20, 21, and 22, 2023, to meet insurance requirements and to allow the pilot to be comfortable flying the airplane.

Flight track data showed the airplane departed from Monroe County Airport Bloomington, Indiana, at 1605 and flew to Shelbyville Municipal Airport (GEZ)

Shelbyville, Indiana (figure 1).

Figure 1 – Overhead Flight Track of the Accident Flight

About 1634, the airplane arrived near GEZ where several overhead flight tracks were recorded. Figure 2 shows two track segments parallel to and over runway 1 with minimum altitudes near that of the runway elevation, about 800 ft mean sea level (msl). One of the two tracks ends near the accident site.

There were no reports received by witnesses who saw the airplane’s takeoffs and landings or any radio transmissions from the airplane at GEZ.

Figure 2 – Flight Tracks Near Shelbyville Municipal Airport

A witness who was traveling eastbound on I-74 saw a small airplane to her left flying southbound over a field. The witness stated that the airplane was very low and looked stalled or as if it was hovering or hanging. The witness estimated the airplane’s altitude as 200 ft above ground level. As the airplane approached the witness’s position, it took a sharp turn to the left or east. Immediately after turning east, the airplane seemed to lose all control. The left wing dipped, and the airplane was fully sideways; the wings were vertical. The airplane rotated to the right with the wings vertical. The witness thought that the airplane rotated to the left one more time and then leveled out extremely low to the ground. The airplane disappeared behind trees at an estimated altitude of 50-100 ft above ground level. A second or two after disappearing behind the trees, the witness saw a fireball and thick black smoke. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONFAA airman records showed that the pilot was issued a Notice of Disapproval of Application for a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating after he failed the practical portion of the examination on October 31, 2023. On November 2, 2023, on his second attempt, the student pilot passed the examination using a Cirrus SR20.The pilot’s reported flight times at the time of the examination included a total flight time of 81.4 hours, 72 hours of instruction received, and 9.4 hours of solo flight.

No pilot logbooks were received from the pilot’s estate.

FAA airman records showed that the flight instructor passed an examination for his initial flight instructor certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating on November 3, 2020. A Cirrus SR22T was used for the examination. The pilot’s last certificate/rating application was for the renewal of his flight instructor certificate on December 16, 2022. At that time, the pilot’s reported flight times included a total airplane flight time of 2,266.50 hours, 652.10 hours of airplane instruction received,, 2,050.40 hours in airplane-single engine land, and 137.30 hours of total rotorcraft flight time.

No pilot logbooks were received from the flight instructor’s estate.

It is unknown whether the pilot, flight instructor, or both were manipulating the airplane’s flight controls during the accident. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane’s normal operating range (airspeed indicator green arc) was 74 – 176 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). The lower limit is the maximum weight stall speed at the most forward center of gravity with wing flaps retracted.

Normal procedures on the use of flaps for takeoff call for wing flap settings of 50%.

No airplane logbooks were received from the pilot’s estate. Previously made logbook copies were provided by the owner of the aircraft sales and acquisition company. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane’s normal operating range (airspeed indicator green arc) was 74 – 176 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). The lower limit is the maximum weight stall speed at the most forward center of gravity with wing flaps retracted.

Normal procedures on the use of flaps for takeoff call for wing flap settings of 50%.

No airplane logbooks were received from the pilot’s estate. Previously made logbook copies were provided by the owner of the aircraft sales and acquisition company. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe accident site was located in a fallow corn field, which investigators were able to drive on to reach the accident site. The main wreckage included the fuselage, wings, empennage, and engine. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire.

The airplane fuselage was oriented on a southwesterly heading. The main wreckage was about 40 ft from a ground scar that exhibited impressions of the left and right wing leading edges, with an airplane nose impression in the center of both wing impressions. The nose impression contained propeller blades. There were marks consistent in shape with propeller slash marks near the outermost area of the right wing impression.

The propeller blades exhibited chordwise scratches consistent with rotation upon impact with the ground. Disassembly of the propeller hub revealed impact-related pitch change knob block contact marks that equated to a low pitch position of the propeller blades.

Postaccident examination of the flight control system confirmed continuity. The wing flap jack screw extension equated to fully retracted wing flaps. The aileron trim was neutral. The elevator motor extension could not be determined due to accident damage.

Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded operation. COMMUNICATIONSThere were no recorded voice transmissions and no air traffic control services provided at the time of the accident. FLIGHT RECORDERSThe airplane was equipped with a recoverable data module (RDM) for Cirrus aircraft to record flight data in a crash and fire-resistant housing. Data is logged up to five times per second and stored internally. The RDM sustained severe fire damage and indicated that the circuit board had been exposed to temperatures over 138oC. Despite the heat exposure of the circuit board, the last two hours of raw data were downloaded normally.

RDM data recorded no elevator mis-trim. The airplane stall warning fail status was recorded as not failed. Prior to 1645:33, engine power decreased to about 15%, engine speed decreased to about 1,750 rpm, and the airplane airspeed decayed through 79 KIAS while the airplane was at approximately 1,650 ft msl. Beginning about 1645:33 until the end of the RDM’s recorded data, which was about 1646:33, the initial onset of stall warning for the flight became active. The stall warning was active eight times and remained active for the last six seconds of the recording. After the beginning of the stall warning, there was an increase, with a positive correlation, in engine speed, engine power, fuel flow rate, and manifold pressure. During this period the wing flaps were at 0% extension. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATIONA private forensic pathologist performed the student pilot’s autopsy at the request of the Shelby County Coroner’s Office. According to the pilot’s autopsy report, his cause of death was multiple injuries and his manner of death was accident.

The pilot’s postmortem toxicological testing by Axis Forensic Toxicology detected carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (carboxy-delta-9-THC) in heart blood. The pilot’s postmortem toxicological testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory detected delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC) in heart blood at 2.1 ng/mL, in urine at 0.6 ng/mL, in brain tissue at 2.2 ng/g, and in lung tissue at 1.1 ng/g. Carboxy-delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (carboxy-delta-8-THC) was detected in heart blood at 87.3 ng/mL, in urine at 538.9 ng/mL, in brain tissue at 62.7 ng/g, and in lung tissue at 82.2 ng/g. Carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (carboxy-delta-9-THC) was detected in heart blood and lung tissue at low levels, and was detected in urine at 4.8 ng/mL. Carboxy-delta-9-THC testing in brain tissue was inconclusive. 11-hydroxy- tetrahydrocannabinol (11-hydroxy-THC) was detected in heart blood, lung tissue, and brain tissue. Testing for 11-hydroxy-THC in urine was inconclusive.

Delta-8-THC is a psychoactive cannabinoid chemical and is similar to the primary psychoactive chemical in cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC). Very little delta-8-THC occurs naturally in the cannabis plant. Delta-8-THC used in consumer products typically is chemically manufactured from cannabidiol (CBD), another chemical in the cannabis plant. Delta-8-THC is available in a variety of over-the-counter products for oral consumption, smoking, and inhalation. Delta-8-THC has psychoactive and intoxicating effects that can impair motor coordination, reaction time, decision making, problem solving, and vigilance. Delta-8-THC products may also contain impurities including delta-9-THC. Carboxy-delta-8-THC is a non-psychoactive metabolite of delta-8-THC. 11-hydroxy-THC is a psychoactive metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol, which may include delta-8-THC or delta-9-THC, (the FAA Forensic Sciences laboratory does not distinguish between delta-8 and delta-9 forms of 11-hydroxy-THC).

Carb...