Pilot Debrief

CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22 near Grover Hill, OH — 2014-11-06

Final reportCEN15FA040
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Date
2014-11-06
Location
Grover Hill, OH, USA
Airport
FDY
Aircraft
CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22
Registration
N811CD
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
3
Phase of flight
Descent

Probable cause

The airplane's encounter with supercooled large droplet (SLD) icing, which resulted in a loss of lift and a subsequent uncontrolled descent into terrain. Also causal was the pilot's preflight and in-flight decision to fly in known icing conditions in an airplane that was not certified to do so.

NTSB narrative

Before departing on the instrument flight rules cross-country flight, the private pilot obtained a weather briefing that forecast moderate icing conditions along the intended route. The pilot, a commercial pilot-rated passenger, and a second passenger then departed on the flight in the high-performance, single engine airplane, which was not certified for flight into known icing conditions. Both the pilot and pilot-rated passenger were heard communicating with air traffic controllers during the flight and it could not be determined who was flying the airplane at the time of the accident. About 1 hour, 45 minutes into the flight, the pilot requested a higher altitude and stated to a controller that the airplane was "picking up a little ice." The pilot was granted a higher altitude, which was above the clouds, thus, reducing the potential for icing. About 20 minutes later, the flight began its descent toward the destination airport. Radar contact was lost about 8 minutes later when the airplane was at an altitude of 3,600 ft mean sea level. Based on an analysis of the weather conditions near the accident site at the time of the accident, the atmosphere was conducive to the formation of supercooled large droplet (SLD) icing. It is likely that, during the descent, the airplane encountered SLD icing, which rapidly accumulated on the airframe to the extent that the airplane could no longer sustain flight. The airplane then entered a steep, uncontrolled descent to ground contact. Due to the night conditions, it is possible that the pilots were not able to visually observe the amount of ice on the airframe or did not realize how quickly the ice was accreting. The airplane was equipped with a parachute system (CAPS) that could be deployed by the pilot in flight. The CAPS rocket motor was found expended; however, the parachute remained in its pack. The investigation could not determine whether the rocket was deployed before impact or as a result of impact forces. There were no observed airplane preimpact anomalies.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have avoided icing conditions by not descending into known icing areas.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ATC audio
  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 32 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents32

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