Working record · subject to change
Preliminary narrative
On June 11, 2026, about 1030 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR20 airplane, N858SD, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Wheelers Mill, Ohio. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Airport surveillance video captured the pilot refueling his airplane before the accident flight. Fuel receipts gathered from the fixed-based operator revealed that he added a total of 20 gallons of 100 LL fuel from the airport self-service pump. The video then showed the pilot complete his preflight inspection, start the airplane’s engine, and taxi the airplane to the runway hold short line. About 3 1/2 minutes later, the video showed the airplane depart from runway 18. The video captured the airplane’s takeoff and initial climb. The airplane briefly left the video frame before it is seen in a near vertical descent, rotating about its longitudinal axis, before an impact with terrain. A witness observed the takeoff sequence and stated that the airplane sounded normal. He stated that he saw the airplane bank to the left before it was obscured by a tree line, followed by a loud bang and visible smoke plume. The wreckage came to rest upright after impacting the garage of a residential home. There were no ground injuries. The airplane and residential home were destroyed by the postimpact fire (see figure 1). The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) rocket, lanyard, and collar were found about 165 ft northwest of the main wreckage; the CAPS parachute was observed aft of the horizontal stabilizer, partially extracted. Figure 1. Overview of accident site. No mechanical anomalies were found with the airframe or the engine during the onsite examination that would have precluded normal operations. The airplane was recovered from the accident site and transported to a secure location.