N255JP

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 21, 2024, at 1320 central standard time, a Cirrus SR22, N255JP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Little Rock, Arkansas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight.

The airplane was kept in an unheated hangar at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field (LIT), Little Rock, Arkansas. On the day of the accident, the pilot called a fixed-base operator (FBO) at LIT to move the airplane outside; at the time, the outside air temperature was about 28°F. When the pilot arrived, he attempted to start the airplane’s engine fourteen times, then ceased further attempts because the battery died. The pilot’s flight instructor stated that he received text messages from the pilot asking, “Tricks for starting the cirrus in the cold?” and stating that the pilot flooded the engine and there was fuel on the ground. An additional message stated that the FBO was taking “forever” to get a ground power unit (GPU). After FBO personnel connected a GPU, the pilot then started the airplane’s engine after five additional attempts.

A witness, who was inside the FBO, said once the accident airplane’s engine started, the GPU was disconnected, the wheel chock was removed, and within two minutes the accident airplane started taxiing and turned onto taxiway A. He said that the pilot of the airplane did not allow the engine to warm after engine start and before taxiing. He said that typically on cold days, he must wait at least 6–8 minutes before taxiing his airplane. He did not know if the pilot of the accident airplane performed a run-up before departure. He said he did not think enough time had elapsed from the time the accident airplane’s engine was started to the time of the accident for the engine oil to have warmed up enough.

The flight took off from runway 4L and reached a maximum altitude of about 425 ft mean sea level (msl), shown in figure 1; the airport elevation was 266 ft msl. During the departure climb, the pilot transmitted that he lost the engine. The airplane entered a right bank, descended, and impacted the ground near the airport fire station.

Figure 1. Departure flight track with ground speeds and altitudes. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe investigation was unable to locate any logbooks that showed the pilot’s total experience flying turbocharged airplanes. A flight instructor provided a statement for the pilot’s airplane insurance application attesting that he provided the pilot with ground instruction and 10 hours of flight training, including 10 takeoffs and landings, in the airplane on October 3 and 17, 2023, and on January 4 and 11, 2024. The pilot reported on the application that he had logged 15.2 hours in a Cirrus SR22. The pilot’s estimated total flight times were based upon the insurance application. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane was powered by Teledyne Continental Motors model IO-550-N, fuel-injected, direct drive, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, 6-cylinder, 550 cubic inch displacement engine, rated at 310 horsepower. IO-550-N engines are equipped with non-congealing oil coolers that have a vernatherm (bypass) valve, which directs oil into the oil cooler when the engine warms up to about 160–180oF; otherwise, oil is routed around the cooling fins and into the oil cooler galley.

The engine was modified by the addition of a Tornado Alley Turbonormalizing System, through a STC. The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement provided a turbocharger system description, which stated:

The absolute controller and wastegates work in conjunction with each other to provide proper boost pressure to the engine. The wastegate is actuated using engine oil pressure to actuate a small hydraulic cylinder which redirects the engine by-pass exhaust flow around the turbochargers. The absolute pressure controller utilizes an aneroid bellows and spring connected to a valve that regulates the amount of oil flowing out of the wastegate actuator hydraulic control cylinder. The aneroid bellows are located inside a housing that is connected to the output air produced by the compressors.

The control lines for the turbocharger system were connected to the oil cooler galley, and the engine oil temperature sensor was connected to the oil output of the oil cooler.

In the Tornado Alley Turbo Continued Airworthiness Manual for Cirrus Design SR22 Series Airplanes Turbonormalized per STC’s SA10588SC and SE10589SC, the post-engine overhaul/installation instructions noted that target fuel flow is achieved with an engine oil temperature not less than 170°F.

The Cirrus SR22 Pilot’s Operating Handbook and FAA Approved Flight Manual list engine and fuel limitations for SR22 airplanes not certified with a turbocharged engine, as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2. Cirrus SR22 engine limitations (top) and fuel limitations (bottom).

The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement specified changes to some of these limitations, as shown in figure 3. The oil temperature limitation was unchanged.

Figure 3. Tornado Alley flight manual supplemental limitations.

The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement added steps to Cirrus’s SR22 takeoff procedures, stating that engine parameters should read in the green during takeoff and manifold pressure may temporarily increase to 31–32 inches of mercury with an associated increase in fuel flow due to cooler oil temperatures. If the manifold pressure exceeded 32 inches of mercury, then the corrective response was to reduce power, shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Tornado Alley flight manual supplemental procedures.

The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement did not have a section for turbocharger emergency procedures as specified in the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Specification for Pilot’s Operating Handbook (GAMA Specification No. 1, Revision No. 2, October 18, 1996), which states that Revision No. 2 “incorporates NTSB suggestions for inclusion of emergency procedures for supercharger/turbocharger failure” and that “procedures shall be provided for coping with emergencies involving” turbocharger systems. Manufacturers may use GAMA Specification No. 1 to fulfill the aircraft flight manual requirements in 14 CFR Part 23. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane was powered by Teledyne Continental Motors model IO-550-N, fuel-injected, direct drive, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, 6-cylinder, 550 cubic inch displacement engine, rated at 310 horsepower. IO-550-N engines are equipped with non-congealing oil coolers that have a vernatherm (bypass) valve, which directs oil into the oil cooler when the engine warms up to about 160–180oF; otherwise, oil is routed around the cooling fins and into the oil cooler galley.

The engine was modified by the addition of a Tornado Alley Turbonormalizing System, through a STC. The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement provided a turbocharger system description, which stated:

The absolute controller and wastegates work in conjunction with each other to provide proper boost pressure to the engine. The wastegate is actuated using engine oil pressure to actuate a small hydraulic cylinder which redirects the engine by-pass exhaust flow around the turbochargers. The absolute pressure controller utilizes an aneroid bellows and spring connected to a valve that regulates the amount of oil flowing out of the wastegate actuator hydraulic control cylinder. The aneroid bellows are located inside a housing that is connected to the output air produced by the compressors.

The control lines for the turbocharger system were connected to the oil cooler galley, and the engine oil temperature sensor was connected to the oil output of the oil cooler.

In the Tornado Alley Turbo Continued Airworthiness Manual for Cirrus Design SR22 Series Airplanes Turbonormalized per STC’s SA10588SC and SE10589SC, the post-engine overhaul/installation instructions noted that target fuel flow is achieved with an engine oil temperature not less than 170°F.

The Cirrus SR22 Pilot’s Operating Handbook and FAA Approved Flight Manual list engine and fuel limitations for SR22 airplanes not certified with a turbocharged engine, as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2. Cirrus SR22 engine limitations (top) and fuel limitations (bottom).

The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement specified changes to some of these limitations, as shown in figure 3. The oil temperature limitation was unchanged.

Figure 3. Tornado Alley flight manual supplemental limitations.

The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement added steps to Cirrus’s SR22 takeoff procedures, stating that engine parameters should read in the green during takeoff and manifold pressure may temporarily increase to 31–32 inches of mercury with an associated increase in fuel flow due to cooler oil temperatures. If the manifold pressure exceeded 32 inches of mercury, then the corrective response was to reduce power, shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Tornado Alley flight manual supplemental procedures.

The Tornado Alley Flight Manual supplement did not have a section for turbocharger emergency procedures as specified in the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Specification for Pilot’s Operating Handbook (GAMA Specification No. 1, Revision No. 2, October 18, 1996), which states that Revision No. 2 “incorporates NTSB suggestions for inclusion of emergency procedures for supercharger/turbocharger failure” and that “procedures shall be provided for coping with emergencies involving” turbocharger systems. Manufacturers may use GAMA Specification No. 1 to fulfill the aircraft flight manual requirements in 14 CFR Part 23. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The wreckage path preceded the main wreckage on a southerly track and contained two of three propeller blades; the third propeller blade was located about 100 ft west of the initial impact point. The propeller blades were separated near th...