Cirrus Design Corp SR22T N17DT accident near Fairland, Indiana

Probable cause

Both pilots’ failure to maintain adequate airspeed during departure from the airport, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack, entering an aerodynamic stall, and impacting terrain.

NTSB analysis

The pilot had planned to fly with a flight instructor on the day of the accident for additional flight experience in the airplane he recently purchased. They flew to the airport where the accident occurred and conducted several takeoffs and landings. During a departure climb from the airport after one of these landings, the airplane slowed and stalled. The airplane descended and impacted a flat, fallow cornfield.

Postaccident examination of the airplane along with recorded data revealed no evidence of mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal airplane operation. The recorded data showed that the airplane was near stall speed, and the stall warning had eight activations over a 1-minute period before the airplane descended into terrain.

It is unknown whether the pilot, flight instructor, or both were manipulating the airplane’s flight controls leading up to the accident and the reason for the duration of stall warnings over the 1-minute period is unknown. There was no deployment of the airframe parachute.

Toxicology results indicate that the pilot had potentially used one or more cannabis products. However, the precise timing of his last cannabis use and whether it was causing significant impairing effects at the time of the accident could not be determined.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN24FA045 for the full record.