Cirrus Design Corp SR22T N561RT accident near Fargo, North Dakota

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing with a gusting crosswind. Contributing to the accident was the closure of the wind aligned runway 27.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, while performing a crosswind landing, the airplane touched down upwind wheel first before ballooning due to a gust. The airplane was subsequently pushed towards the left side of the runway after becoming airborne. The pilot elected to execute a go-around, however, the airplane continued to the left and impacted the grass on the left side of the runway which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident the pilot was landing the airplane on runway 18 with wind from 250 at 13 knots gusting 23 knots. The Cirrus SR22T Airplane Flight Manual states that the max demonstrated crosswind is 21 knots. The calculated crosswind was 12.2 to 21.6 knots.

The pilot also reported that contributing to the accident was the closure of runway 27 and that an alternate airport with an appropriate runway for the wind conditions should have been chosen.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN25LA338 for the full record.