Cirrus SR22 N418DE accident near Denver, Colorado

Probable cause

The student pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing with a gusting crosswind and his failure to go around and relinquish control of the airplane when directed by the instructor pilot.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor reported that he and student pilot were landing at their home airport following a training flight. During the planned full stop landing with a gusting crosswind, the student pilot flared high, and the airplane drifted left of runway centerline. The flight instructor called for a go-around and subsequently attempted to take control of the airplane, but the student pilot did not understand the flight instructor’s verbal commands resulting in the two pilots “fighting” over the flight controls. The airplane subsequently impacted terrain to the left of the runway and subsequently slid across a taxiway coming to rest between the taxiway and the parking apron. The airplane’s left wing and firewall sustained substantial damage. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the student pilot was landing the airplane on runway 17L with wind 230o at 10 to 15 knots.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN21LA051 for the full record.