Cirrus Design Corp SR22 N1281F accident near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

Probable cause

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a go-around attempt, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control.

NTSB analysis

The pilot departed on a multi-leg flight from the airport where the airplane was based and made stops at three other airports before continuing to the destination airport. ADS-B data for the accident flight showed that, after departure from the third airport, the pilot flew the airplane 6.5 nautical miles (nm) to the destination airport and directly entered the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern for a runway with a published traffic pattern to the right.

While on the final approach, the pilot descended the airplane, flew low above the runway, then climbed the airplane. Data recovered from the airplane’s recoverable data module (RDM) showed that, while the airplane was low over the runway, the stall warning tone sounded before the pilot increased the engine power and initiated the climb. The pilot subsequently used left turns to fly a return pattern back to the runway and then reestablished the airplane on the final approach.

A witness reported that, during the pilot’s second approach to the runway, the airplane was high. The weather conditions reported at the airport about the time of the accident included a quartering left headwind at 6 knots, gusting to 14 knots. ADS-B and RDM data showed that, as the airplane passed the mid-point of the runway, it made a steep left turn. It then impacted the tops of 50-ft-tall trees off the left side of the runway, coming to rest in heavily wooded terrain, where a significant postimpact fire ensued. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation.

The RDM data revealed that the second final approach was unstable, such that the stall warning tone sounded, and the pilot responded by increasing engine power an initiating climb with an excessive nose-up pitch control input. During that time, the airplane’s nose-up pitch and its left roll continued to increase before the data ended.

Based on this information, it is likely that during the go-around attempt the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control. It is possible that, after the pilot fueled the airplane at the most recent departure airport, the airplane’s loading was near its maximum gross weight. This condition, if present, could have adversely affected the control characteristics of the airplane, increasing the difficulty for the pilot in maintaining airplane control.

Toxicological testing of the pilot indicated that he had used the antidepressant medication vilazodone. Whether he was impaired by effects of vilazodone or an associated underlying condition at the time of the accident could not be determined. One laboratory detected mildly elevated carboxyhemoglobin, a marker of carbon monoxide exposure. This result could be attributed to smoke inhalation during the postimpact fire.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA24FA397 for the full record.