N544CD – Cirrus Aircraft SR22 – 2026-06-21 NTSB Accident Report

On June 21, 2026, about 1132 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22 airplane, N544CD, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Windom, West Virginia. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that he departed Butler County Regional Airport (HAO), in Hamilton, Ohio, about 0645 to return home to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. While in cruise flight about 7,000 ft mean sea level (msl) he noticed a 3% reduction in engine power. A few seconds later, while scanning the instrument panel, the engine lost about 50% of its power. He attempted the engine restart procedure to no avail. About 15 to 20 seconds after the first loss of power, the oil pressure light flickered and then the engine and propeller stopped completely. The pilot selected the nearest airport on the GPS to perform a forced landing.

He made right turns and circled over Kee Field Airport (I16), Pineville, West Virginia. He overflew the runway and touched down several times, but was too fast to land. The airplane exited the end of the runway at 60 knots, continued through a fence, trees, and came to rest against a guardrail. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

Postaccident examination revealed fragments of metal in the oil dipstick reservoir.

The engine and airframe have been retained for further examination.