Cirrus SR-22 Engine Quits

NTSB Final Report for a Cirrus SR-22 with a Manufacturing defect in the engine which caused a parachute pull on January 2, 2020 with 2 onboard, they were not injured.

[roygearheadniederlander]

I am a retired mechanic with 52 yrs. service & used to work at a Cirrus service center central OH. We had an SR22 out of Mich. doing instrument check ride prep shooting approaches & his IO550 did exactly the same thing on takeoff. Right over the fence at KOSU & engine quit. I know everybody says never do a 180 in this situation but they pulled it off & nor a scratch on acft. ! Turns out the CFI was also a glider instructor & dead-sticked it right back to airport as they were heading over a heavily packed residential area. Towed it in & tried to start it, could get to hit on a couple of cylinders, sounded like a Harley on nitromethane. We trouble shot (pulled top plugs) & found valves on front 4 cylinders would not actuate. Rear 2 cylinders had normal valve action. Turned out the camshaft sheared in half at exactly the same place! Sounds like a future AD is coming!

us service

[paulhendershott]

Cirrus instructs their pilots to pull the CAPS system in virtually every scenario. Early pilots would often try to safe the aircraft and land it on a road or field, but many ended in fatalities. Also, you have to pull it soon enough when the parachute has enough altitude to inflate - somewhere between 450' to 600 ft AGL. Their theory is that if you monkey around too long trying to find a good place to land, you will often run out altitude and options, and now you're a statistic rather than a live pilot.

[toma]

Have worked in aircraft manufacturing and I read the summary at 2:09 with great interest. It pinpoints the camshaft failure arising from a burr at an oil delivery passage. Sometimes in aircraft manufacture the devil is in the finest detail. Small burrs, nicks, pits and scratches can act as stress risers and lead to fatigue failure due to accumulated vibration or flexing during normal operation.

[cheburatorish]

Cirrus recommends pulling the parachute. Unless you're landing into an airstrip or a really smooth pasture, the odds of trashing the aircraft are pretty high. Once the engine quit the only thing you care about is lives, and the aircraft from that moment on is a dispensable. So you better just pull that handle and parachute nicely down, having almost a guaranteed survival.

[SimonButler]

Do exactly what this guy did, trouble shoot what you can, then pull CAPS first. Save that field option for if CAPS fails.

It's a composite airframe, it's the insurance companies plane either way it comes down. Remember the approach speed is still almost 90Kts in those things.

[nappozulp]

I’m not sure where this Pilot lives in North Carolina. I live in Western, North Carolina, and, being in the mountains, open fields aren’t easy to find. I’m happy my Bristell has a ballistic parachute.

[paulis]

When Cirrus first putting those chutes on planes, I and all my pilot buddies said the same thing: "now nobody will want to land when the engine quits." This guy (and many others) is proof of that.

[nancychace]

Yep, the dogs had a long day. Cirruses may be pretty and fast but the more I hear of them the more I think I'll stick with an old reliable Cessna. Glad everybody was ok.
Whether or not to pull that big chute? Depends on the circumstances and your skill -
I'll stick with a Cessna.

[Coops]

It's 50/50 in my view. The little wheels cannot be retracted and would dig in to the unprepared surface so a flip over on landing in that paddock is almost inevitable (but they would likely walk away uninjured if landing done well). The parachute worked extremely well for the pilot. I think the pilot did a great job. I'm beginning to understand the need for a parachute in the Cirrus as it is a fixed gear design.

[almirria]

The problem is that once you deploy the chute, you are at the mercy of the winds & where they take you

[jaredh]

In every scenario just about cirrus tells you to pull caps. There have been people who are no longer alive because they tried to land the plane and if they would have just pulled caps they would still be here. Caps is option 1 and if that doesn’t work then you move to forced landing

[Darkvirgoxx]

In my opinion, the pilot did the right thing. The CAPS parachute is on these Cirrus planes because they will not pass FAA without them. If you get too slow and enter a spin in those planes you will not recover. It's even part of the checklist on these planes. I recommend researching the CAPS system. Cirrus uses it as a selling point because most people don't bother to do their homework on things their purchasing. Then they will realise if it didn't have a CAPS parachute you probably wouldn't be making an emergency landing or spin recovery. You would be a crater in the ground and people would be at your funeral lying about how much of a good person you were. So do you want to live or do you want to die? Don't use the parachute if you want to be in the morgue.

[Mobev]

As a cirrus pilot we are trained to pull chute instead of landing at 90 mph dummies

[rebelscumspeedshop]

If it failed at one of the bearing jurnals it quite possibly was an oil issue. What goes wrong in a bearing ? A) lack of oil, B)metal in the oil, C) defect.

[jimfinlaw]

I would have to say the pilot made the correct decision pulling the CAPS in this instance. Landing in a horse paddock is not a good idea because they are usually very rough and you have a better chance of flipping the aircraft upside down as a result. As for the broken camshaft, that will not fall onto Cirrus Aircraft, since they are not responsible. This broken camshaft will actually fall onto the engine manufacturer, which in this case will be Continental Motors in Mobile, Alabama, which is owned by China. The Chinese also own Cirrus Aircraft Company as well. Depending on the extent of the damage, this aircraft may be totalled by the insurance company. So glad no one was seriously injured in the accident.

[yacahumax]

With so many trees, I will pull the chute. I think, maybe I am wrong, that the frame could never be used once you pull the chute, no matter the condition of the plane at the end. Glad the they survive. I think every small plane should have one. It give you a choice when you have none.

[txkflier]

When you can’t retract the wheels, the chute is the better option. The wheels can flip you over or let you roll into something you can’t move.

[robertd]

“No, he was man. It was a really great move. He was inverted.” – Goose
(1986)

[Stubby]

Cirrus won't have to anwer questions, it is the engine manufacture will .

[ManNomad]

Parachute is only for if there is inability to control the airplane due to structural failure etc. or no suitable landing sites within gliding distance. It is not supposed to be used just because the engine fails. Once the parachute is deployed the aircraft is no longer able to avoid damage and or injury to persons and property wherever it lands.