Cirrus Design Corp SR22 N583KM accident near Durango, Colorado

Probable cause

The student pilot’s decision to fly solo into an unfamiliar, mountain airport during high-wind conditions. Contributing to the accident was a partial loss of engine power during the attempted go-around, which was caused by an over-rich mixture setting.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot was conducting a solo flight from his home airport on the coast to an airport located in the mountains. Just before landing, the airplane encountered a "strong downward gust," likely due to a combination of high-wind conditions (the local weather was wind at 16 knots gusting to 24 knots about the time of the accident) and a steep terrain dropoff near the approach end of the runway. The pilot attempted a go-around, but the engine did not respond with full power. He subsequently lost control of the airplane, which then impacted left of the runway. The pilot reported that the mixture might have been "too rich" during the go-around attempt.

Examination of the engine revealed excessive sooting on the spark plugs, which is indicative of an over-rich mixture condition; this condition likely resulted in the partial loss of engine power during the go-around attempt. The student pilot had not flown into the mountain airport before and had not been cleared to fly the route by a flight instructor.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN14LA277 for the full record.