Early Analysis: Cirrus SR22 Crash Near Wright Brothers National Memorial - Kill Devil Hills, NC

On September 28, 2024, a Cirrus SR22 crashed at First Flight Airport (KFFA) near the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, after the pilot lost control of the aircraft.

Sadly, the pilot and all four passengers on board the aircraft perished in the accident.

The Cirrus pilot executed a go-around after flying an initial approach to Runway 21. He lost control of the aircraft during his second landing attempt, and the aircraft impacted trees adjacent to the runway.

In Early Analysis: Cirrus SR22 Crash Near Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the AOPA Air Safety Institute makes a preliminary assessment of the accident, addressing notable portions of the tragic flight and highlighting areas the NTSB will likely investigate to determine a probable cause.

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[inflying]

"Entered the left downwind about at 154 knots, and was a little fast" understatement of the year.

[stewie]

This really emphasizes to me how important it is to fly the numbers and fly the pattern with 90° controlled turns. It looks like he rounded the downwind to base turn and forced himself into a >90° turn while also still needing to dump speed. The whole point of the pattern is to give you time and space in wings level descent between the turns to configure the plane for a stabilized approach. I’m a student pilot, and this is what I am learning from these tragedies. So sorry for the loss to the families and communities of these folks. 😢

[JasonFlorida]

Thank you for bringing these to us. Condolences to the families.

[cinc]

I appreciate the expedited AOPA 'generic' crash summary. However I still believe it is conditionally valuable to speculate more given the available data and my experience. For reference, I have owned an SR22 since 2016 and a PC12 and C210T before that, and I am a CFI. Been through all sorts of training and 1000's of hours. Some of the basic and initial missing elements for me are how long had the pilot flown and/or owned this 2023 SR22? My initial reaction given the flight profile of his pattern is... inexperience in situational flying (e.g. AQP) i.e. short field, heavy, slight cross wind. The SR22 is a great and safe airplane but can be a handful (at gross weight, speed (accelerates and slows down very fast) and doesn't glide very well) to a less experienced pilot as aircraft performance anticipation is important. For those who might think a stall was a culprit, not sure, but let's just say SR22 stalls are fairly benign when done at the right altitude and coordination. I will also point out there is an audio call-out 'air speed' if dropping below proscribed appropriate approach air speeds. One leading indicator for me is... the pilot did not do the proper preflight work regarding the airport (flying left pattern vs RHP). furthermore flying at 154kts downwind is an indication the pilot wasn't following the Cirrus pattern training 100kts downwind, 90kts base, >80kts on final (higher for gusts). The latest SR22's are highly automated and pilots can become too reliant on its automation (as I have done in the past) and be weak or complacent on fundamental flying skills. I am terribly sad for the pilot and passengers, a terrible tragedy. I just sickens me when a likely perfect airplane and unknowing passengers parish like this. This tragedy impacts all of us emotionally and financially! So sad.

[philo]

A very sad story, but a very good vid. Thanx.

[TakingOff]

Thanks Mike for the video. Sad stuff.

[txkflier]

It looks to me like the water caused him some anxiety. The ADS-B data seems to show that he turned base early, then angled away from the runway to increase his distance from it, and then made a fairly tight turn to final. His base leg was too close to the runway for him to lose enough altitude. The 2nd attempt was better because he was lower on downwind, but I think he rushed both approaches. Perhaps the water caused him to tighten his base legs. Had he made right traffic, the water wouldn’t have been as much of an issue, but then the runway would have been on the passenger side.

[glennt]

It’s worth mentioning that Tropical Storm Helene was over Georgia at the time of the crash and heading north. The term “gusty winds” is used several times in the vid, but I feel that doesn’t quite capture the unseen possibility of more local instability in the region of a powerful tropical storm - in the process of dispersion/disintegration! - especially on the N.C. dunes and in the vicinity of the mechanical turbulence caused by those trees. At the very least, I feel the pilot demonstrated poor ADM by choosing to fly that day.

[TheJustinJ]

1:37 that base leg to final turn. If this is how that pilot flies that high-risk corner, a fatal accident was bound to happen. Im talking, without Devine intervention by a invisible man in the clouds, this was a near absolute certainty.

Making the base to final turn greater than 90 degrees, and tighter than all the other turns, TWICE back to back... This person had a serious lack of fundamental principles.

[alexisfeliciano]

I really want to know about this accident, the student pilot on board is my good friend recently promoted LTC Jason Campbell.

[diegoblancogiusti]

If the aircraft was descending to the runway at about 1, 000 fpm and near MGW, a pitch attitude to flare could be a potential factor for accelerated stall and loss of control

[dermick]

Another tragic reminder that we as pilots need to fly the aircraft. Every landing can kill you if you get complacent. As much as I love a tight pattern, it seems like there are times when a "bomber" pattern can be helpful for a busy or stressed pilot. Or just exit the airport area and get yourself collected. Most pilots will agree that having passengers increases stress, no matter how many times you've flown with them. Take a minute, breathe, follow your checklists, ask for a sterile cockpit, touch the ISO switch on the intercom, and fly the aircraft to a safe landing.

[Jimmy]

Who would ever think that a simple 8 minute flight would end up with all five being killed…😢

[invertedflatspin]

My condolences to the families. That is a very challenging approach with the wind gusts and the surrounding trees. I have flown to KFFA several times, in a light sport, C172, and a C177. With the short runway, a pilot really needs to ensure that the aircraft is properly set up for landing, on speed and glideslope.

[willburrito]

Too high, too fast on downwind. Why did they ignore rgt traffic?

[michaelarlen]

The altitude ADSB exchange shows is pressure altitude, it’s not altitude corrected for local altimeter setting. The local altimeter setting was 29.84, so the aircraft was actually 75 feet lower than what ADSB exchange was showing, but that is still too much altitude on base and final. Just an important distinction especially with much lower pressures.

[Skyruben]

I would add one more factor for you to consider: what if the pilot handling the controls quite suddenly applied an abrupt full throttle which may have added a roll torque to the left? It all happened so quickly he didn’t have time to find out about the engine’s torque roll and the last thing they saw were the trees.

[JustJohn]

A CR22 with 5 people. It's already a bad start 😲

[JonRumfelt]

An air strip in Alaska had trees on either side. If there was hardly any cross wind landing there was too dangerous. While on approach you would be crabbing into the wind, as soon as you came below the tree line, you had to immediately straighten out to no longer account for the cross wind. Power had to be reduced and it was hell as a passenger with a sudden acceleration and attitude adjustments.

Are the conditions similar here? Based on the crash site and wind direction, it appears he crashed INTO the wind. Perhaps he was crabbing on approach and didn't straighten out to land?

Further indicators would be the fast downwind?

Aspiring pilot, asking for knowledge.

[miked]

Having flown into there a few years ago. The one thing I remember about the approach to 21, was the location of the power lines. They get your attention.