Cirrus Design Corp SR22 N831AZ accident near Provo, Utah

Probable cause

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering for landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight with a pilot-rated passenger when he performed a go-around at the direction of the tower air traffic controller due to an airplane on the runway ahead. He reentered the traffic pattern on the right downwind leg and, after the flight was established on the downwind leg, the controller cleared him to land. About a minute later, the pilot of another airplane on final approach to the same runway observed the accident airplane descend rapidly and rotate three times before the airplane’s parachute deployed and the airplane impacted the water.

Airport surveillance video showed an airplane approaching the runway and performing a touch-and-go landing. The accident airplane then came into view; about 50 ft above ground level, it climbed and maneuvered to the right before passing out of the camera’s view. The airplanes appeared to be about 200 ft apart. ADS-B data showed that the accident airplane reentered the right downwind leg. A few moments later, as the airplane approached the turn to the base leg, its ground speed decreased, and the airplane turned right while descending. The recorded flight data ended over Utah Lake near the accident location. The airport surveillance video then partially showed the airplane in a steep, nose-down attitude before its parachute began to deploy.

Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the available information, the accident sequence was consistent with the pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering in the airport traffic pattern for landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall, loss of control, spin, and impact with the water.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR24FA313 for the full record.