CEN09FA363

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in a loss of aircraft control during a go-around. Factors associated with the accident were the dark night lighting conditions, moderate to heavy rain, and fatigue.

The pilot reported having the runway in sight during the night landing. The tower controller reported that it appeared the airplane touched down on the runway after which time they closed and departed the tower. A witness, who was exiting a building on the south side of the airport when the accident occurred,reported that he heard the airplane and that the engine was very loud. He then heard the engine power increase as if the pilot was performing a “go-around.” He stated that he heard the impact and looked toward runway 14L where he saw the airplane engulfed in flames. The witness stated there was “moderate to heavy” rain at the time of the accident. Another witness reported that the airplane turned onto its right side and stalled. The airplane was destroyed by impact and a post impact fire. Inspection of the airplane and engine failed to reveal any pre-impact failure/malfunction. The pilot began the cross country flight about 10 hours and 30 minutes prior to the accident, and had flown about 7 hours and 17 minutes during that time.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 16, 2009, at 2202 central daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N214BN, collided with the terrain following a loss of control while landing on runway 14L (3,263 feet by 75 feet wet asphalt) at the Crystal Airport (MIC), Crystal, Minnesota. The instrument rated private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was consumed by post impact fire. The personal/business flight was being operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. An instrument flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident. The last leg of the cross country flight originated at the Downtown-Wheeler Airport (MKC), Kansas City, Missouri, at approximately 1918. (All times are central daylight times unless noted.) According to information received from interviews and a FlightAware Activity Log, the first leg of the trip originated in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where the airplane departed from the Gwinnett County Airport (LZU) at 1235 eastern daylight time. The airplane arrived at the Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee, at 1339. the airplane departed MEM at 1558, and arrived at MKC at 1827. Records show the airplane was fueled with 37 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel at MKC prior to departing for MIC. At 2153, the pilot contacted MIC tower stating that he was outside OYNOP, the initial approach fix for the global positioning system (GPS) RWY 14L approach. The local controller asked the pilot if he was going to perform a missed approach or if he was going to make a full stop and the pilot replied, “stop.” The controller then instructed the pilot to report having the airport in sight. At 2158, the local controller cleared N214BN to land and asked the pilot how bright he wanted the lights to be. The pilot replied that he wanted them a little brighter than they were at the time and that it was a little hard to see the field. The pilot reported being at ZUNBE, the final approach fix, and that he was starting his descent. The controller replied that the lights were on “full blast.” The pilot replied, “ok” and the controller instructed the pilot to key the mike if he wanted the lights dimmer. The MIC control tower closes at 2200, and at 2159, the ground controller made the closing announcement over the tower frequency. Shortly thereafter, the pilot radioed that he had the runway in sight. The controller replied, “roger.” There were no further transmissions from the aircraft. The local controller reported that the airplane appeared to have landed on runway 14L at which time he and the two other controllers departed the tower for the night. All three controllers stated the first they knew of the accident was when they reached the parking lot outside the tower and saw the aircraft engulfed in flames. A Lieutenant Colonel with the Civil Air Patrol was exiting a building on the south side of the airport when the accident occurred. He reported that he heard the airplane and that the engine was very loud. He then heard the engine power increase as if the pilot was performing a “go-around.” He stated he heard the impact and looked toward runway 14L where he saw the airplane engulfed in flames. The witness stated there was “moderate to heavy” rain at the time of the accident. Another witness, who was on the southeast side of the airport perimeter stated he saw the airplane coming in from the north and watched it as it attempted to land. He reported the airplane turned over on its right side, appeared to stall, and impacted the ground. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 60, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single engine land and instrument ratings. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical was issued on September 3, 2008. The medical certificate contained the limitation “Holder shall wear corrective lenses.” The pilot’s family stated that his logbooks were in the airplane at the time of the accident. The logbooks were not located amongst the burned wreckage. The pilot received his instrument airplane rating on February 23, 2009. On the application for that rating, which was dated February 20, 2009, the pilot reported having 505 hours of total flight time. This included 388 hours of flight time in a Cirrus SR-22, and 38 hours of night flight time. The airplane owner stated the accident pilot was the one who flew the SR22 most frequently. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was a 2004-model Cirrus SR22, serial number 1137. The SR22 is a four-place, single-engine, low wing, composite structure airplane. The airplane was equipped from the factory with an Avidyne FlightMax multi-function flight display (MFD), an Avidyne FlightMax primary flight display (PFD), and a S-Tec System 55X autopilot. The airplane was also equipped with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). The airplane was equipped with a fuel-injected, Teledyne Continental IO-550-N(27), 310-horsepower engine, serial number 917356. It was also equipped with a three-bladed, constant speed, Hartzell propeller. According to the aircraft owner, the aircraft logbooks were in the airplane at the time of the accident. Small, burnt pieces of what appeared to be aircraft logbooks were located amongst the wreckage. Records obtained from the fixed base operator that maintained the airplane showed the last annual inspection was completed on October 29, 2008. The aircraft and engine total times at the time of the last annual inspection were both listed as being 689.4 hours. The aircraft owner stated he purchased the airplane in 2004. He stated that Cirrus leased the airplane from him at the time of purchase. He stated the airplane had 270 hours of flight time on it when he took delivery of it in October 2005. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The weather conditions reported at MIC at 2153 were: Wind from 080 degrees at 3 knots; visibility 3 statute miles; light rain and mist; overcast clouds at 4,200 feet; temperature 17 degree Celsius; dew point 17 degrees Celsius; altimeter 29.90 inches of mercury. The weather conditions reported at MIC at 2209 were: Wind from 100 degrees at 4 knots; visibility 4 statute miles; rain and mist; overcast clouds at 4,400 feet; temperature 17 degree Celsius; dew point 17 degrees Celsius; altimeter 29.90 inches of mercury WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane came to rest in a grass area located approximately 266 feet south of taxiway Alpha and 138 feet east of runway 14L. There was no debris on the runway, nor were there any marks on the runway that could be attributed to the airplane. There were no marks in the grass between the runway and the first impact mark. Four terrain impact marks led up to the main wreckage. These marks were along a magnetic heading of 74 degrees and covered a distance of about 30 feet. The first mark was approximately 100 feet east of runway 14L and it consisted of a slash type mark which was about 27 inches in length. This was closely followed by a 12 inch long impact mark which contained red glass. The third mark was approximately 45 inches long and 6 inches deep. This mark also contained red glass along with pieces of hardware from the left wing navigational light. The last mark was about 10 feet 7 inches long. The main wreckage came to rest inverted on a magnetic heading of 134 degrees. The fuselage area was destroyed by the post impact fire. The empennage was separated from the fuselage. The empennage exhibited impact and fire damage; however, the stabilizers and flight control surfaces remained attached to the empennage. Both elevator control cables remained attached at the forward elevator torque tube. The upper elevator cable separated from the empennage elevator bellcrank and the lower elevator cable remained attached. The rudder cables remained attached to the torque tubes on the rudder pedals. The u