CEN20LA379

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s continued flight into dark night instrument meteorological conditions which resulted in spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of airplane control.

The noninstrument-rated pilot and three passengers departed on a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country flight in dark night visual meteorological conditions. The pilot established contact with air traffic control and requested VFR flight-following to the destination airport; shortly thereafter, the controller provided a 20° right turn around an area of precipitation ahead of the airplane. The pilot acknowledged and flew the suggested heading for a short time before he turned left toward the area of precipitation. When queried by the controller, the pilot replied that he was returning to the departure airport; however, the pilot did not establish a heading toward the airport. When queried again, the pilot stated that, “the wind caught me” and that he was correcting the airplane’s heading. Shortly thereafter, the airplane began a turning descent and radar contact was lost, about 6 minutes after the pilot’s initial contact with air traffic control. The wreckage was found the next day in wooded terrain. Examination did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on flight track and weather information, the pilot likely encountered instrument meteorological conditions and turbulence when the airplane flew in close proximity to an area of convective activity as depicted on radar just before the accident. The pilot’s inability to respond positively to ATC-provided vectors and maintain altitude before the turning descent is consistent with the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation. The pilot’s inability to maintain aircraft control under those conditions was likely exacerbated by the presence of frequent lightning. Although the pilot obtained a weather briefing for the accident flight about 17 hours before the planned departure time, there were no records to indicate that he obtained updated weather information, which would have reflected increased potential for convective activity along the planned route. The pilot purchased the airplane about 8 months before the accident and received transition training in the airplane, which included use of the avionics suite. Instructors who flew with the pilot in the accident airplane reported that the installed avionics was “old technology” and “not easy to use.” Although the airplane was equipped with an autopilot, the extent to which the pilot may have used the autopilot during the accident flight could not be determined. Review of the pilot’s logbook indicated that he did not meet recency of experience requirements to carry passengers at night. Toxicology testing of the pilot revealed the presence of ethanol; however, it is most likely that some or all of the identified low concentration of ethanol was from sources other than ingestion. Thus, the identified ethanol did not contribute to this accident.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector recovered the pilot’s logbook and supplied a summary of the pilot’s flight experience based off the last entry on August 2, 2020. The recorded entries showed the pilot did not meet recency of experience requirements to carry passengers at night. According to the pilot’s primary flight instructor, the airplane’s autopilot did not initially function; however, it was repaired and during two post-maintenance local flights, the autopilot worked properly. The pilot subsequently demonstrated basic knowledge of autopilot usage. The pilot received training in turbulent conditions and the pilot “calmly responded” with “no unreasonable reactions” to the turbulence. The pilot received simulated instrument conditions training and was “good at it.” The pilot had experience using the ForeFlight application along with a Stratus receiver. The pilot requested and was granted Cirrus Embark training on January 13, 2020. According to Cirrus, Cirrus Embark is a safety program designed to provide free transition training to pilots that are new to Cirrus SR operations. The program consists of a maximum of 3 full days of flight training. From instructor recollections, the accident pilot had accumulated about 100 to 120 hours total time at the time of his application. Direct owners or designated pilots of pre-owned Cirrus aircraft must enroll into Cirrus Embark within 30 days of aircraft delivery. Once enrolled into the program, the owner or designated pilot must complete the training within 60 days. According to Cirrus training records, the pilot completed all the flight training lessons, but there was no record of him completing all of the online self-study lessons. Instructors who provided the Cirrus Embark transition training reported that the accident pilot’s training comprised of a VFR transition to the SR22. The training was not conducted at night or in instrument meteorological conditions, and no extensive training on exiting inadvertent instrument conditions was conducted. The pilot was given autopilot instruction to include following headings and holding altitudes; however, the instructors described the ARNAV Systems Inc. display installed in the airplane as “old technology” and stated that the Sandel electronic horizontal situation indicator (EHSI) was “not easy to use.” According to the State Crime Laboratory, Medical Examiner Division, Little Rock, Arkansas, autopsy report, the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries, and the manner of death was accident. The examination was limited by the extensive injuries. Toxicology testing performed by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory on the pilot’s muscle tissue was positive for ethanol at 0.023 grams per hectogram (gm/hg). No other tested for drugs were detected in muscle tissue. Ethanol is a social drug commonly consumed by drinking beer, wine, or liquor. It acts as a central nervous system depressant; it impairs judgment, psychomotor functioning, and vigilance. Ethanol is water soluble, and after absorption it quickly and uniformly distributes throughout the body’s tissues and fluids. The distribution pattern parallels water content and blood supply of the tissue. Ethanol can be produced after death by microbial activity. The airplane was sold to the accident pilot on January 4, 2020. According to copies of airplane logbook entries, an annual inspection was completed on June 2, 2020, and the airplane had accumulated 2,053.8 hours total time at the time of that inspection. The accident airplane was equipped with avionics that included dual Garmin 430s/Terrain Avoidance and Warning System, Sandel 3308 EHSI, ARNAV ICDS (integrated cockpit display system) 2000, WX-500 Stormscope, S-Tec 55X Autopilot with GPSS (GPS Steering) and Glideslope Tracking, and Digital Altitude Preselect. The ICDS 2000 is a moving map multifunction display that also displays engine data. The airplane was fitted with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) advertised by the manufacturer to recover the airplane and its occupants to the ground in the event of an in-flight emergency. The airplane impacted wooded terrain about 22 miles north of FSM. A section of upper tree canopy exhibited fuel blighting. The wreckage path descended about 30° through the woods from the upper canopy to the main wreckage on a heading of about 220°. Charring and discoloration consistent with a small ground fire was present on items in the impact area. The propeller was separated from the engine, and one propeller blade was separated just outboard of its hub. The remaining two blades exhibited leading edge nicks and gouges. A portion of the CAPS parachute was strewn in the debris field northeast of the impact area and the remainder of the CAPS parachute was observed in its deployment bag. The CAPS rocket was found in a ravine about 200 ft north of the impact site. Components of the wings, engine, empennage, and fuselage were identified at the accident site. The cockpit instrumentation was fragmented and revealed no useful information. The fuselage exhibited fragmentation consistent with impact with trees and terrain and discoloration consistent with post-impact spot fires. Flight control cable continuity could not be confirmed due to the damage and sections that were not present; however, the cable separations revealed signatures consistent with overload. The pitch trim motor remained attached to its fuselage station and its pitch trim position was between neutral and nose up pitch trim. All observed CAPS components exhibited impact and thermal damage. The CAPS parachute was extracted from the D-Bag. The slider assembly remained near the base of the canopy. The D-Bag and incremental bridle remained attached to the parachute canopy. The incremental bridle remained zipped. The rear harness stitching remained snubbed. The engine crankcase had fractured and its internal components were visible through the openings in the fractured crankcase. The engine could not be rotated due to the impact damage. Removed sparkplugs displayed normal combustion signatures when compared to a Champion check-a-plug chart. The three-bladed propeller separated from its crankshaft propeller flange. The spinner was fractured into several pieces. The observed spinner pieces exhibited spiral crushing. Sections of all propeller blades exhibited chordwise scratches and gouges. Two propeller blades exhibited S-bending. No preimpact anomalies were detected that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. On September 4, 2020, about 2055 central daylight time, a Cirrus SR22 airplane, N733CD, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Chester, Arkansas. The private pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. After working his job the day of the accident, the pilot intended to fly with three passengers to visit a family member that evening. About 1900, the pilot called his flight instructor/airplane mechanic and advised that he intended to fly to North Carolina. The mechanic advised the pilot to leave in the morning. Fueling records showed the accident airplane was fueled about 1949 with 36.41 gallons of 100 low lead aviation gasoline. Radar and air traffic control information indicated that the airplane departed from Muskogee-Davis Regional Airport (MKO), near Muskogee, Oklahoma, about 2027 and proceeded east. About 2049, while climbing through 8,500 ft mean sea level (msl), the pilot established radio communication with air traffic control and requested visual flight rules (VFR) flight-following to the destination airport. The controller subsequently suggested a 20° right turn for moderate to heavy precipitation ahead of the airplane. Shortly thereafter, the airplane turned into the area of precipitation; when the controller queried the pilot about the cours