Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Cirrus SR20, N255JB: Accident February 24, 2017 near Spruce Creek Airport (7FL6), Volusia County, Florida

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities:

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Orlando, Florida
Continental; Mobile, Alabama
Cirrus; Duluth, Minnesota 

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf


Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms 

 
http://registry.faa.gov/N255JB




Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Accident Number: ERA17LA113
Date & Time: 02/24/2017, 0639 EST
Registration: N225JB
Aircraft: CIRRUS SR20
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
Injuries: 2 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On February 24, 2017, about 0639 eastern standard time, a Cirrus SR-20, N255JB, was destroyed when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Spruce Creek Airport (7FL6), Daytona Beach, Florida. The private pilot and passenger were seriously injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed. The personal flight, destined for Lumberton Regional Airport (LBT) Lumberton, North Carolina, was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

Track data obtained from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar sensors depicted the airplane climbing out on runway heading to about 300 feet mean sea level, before beginning a descending right turn to the north. About two minutes later, radar contact was lost at an altitude of 50 feet on a northerly ground track.

The pilot stated during the preflight he did not see any low clouds and was able to see stars above him. The pilot intended to depart under visual flight rules (VFR) and open his IFR flight plan after he had reached 1,000 ft. At sunrise, he departed under VFR, while retracting the flaps on initial climbout he encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). He stated, "I was not able to see the low fog until I encountered it." He turned right to avoid any traffic that may have been on final approach to the opposite runway then suddenly he saw a tree. He maneuvered the airplane in an attempt to avoid the tree, then recalled being on the ground, upside down in the airplane. He stated he had not yet begun to transition to instrument flying when he encountered IMC.

An FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident site. According to the inspector, the engine was separated from the airframe. The wings, cockpit, fuselage, and empennage all sustained extensive impact damage.
A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane.

The four-seat, low-wing, tricycle gear airplane was manufactured in 2000, and was equipped with a Continental IO-360. Its most recent inspection was completed in March 2017, at that time the airplane had 1,985 flight hours.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on July 31, 2017. The pilot reported 790 total hours of flight experience at the time of the accident, and about 80 hours of actual instrument time.

The weather conditions reported at Dayton Beach Regional Airport, Daytona Beach, Florida, located about 7 nautical miles north of the accident site, at 0627, included scattered clouds at 500 feet, wind from 340 at 7 knots, visibility 6 statute miles, mist, temperature 19° C, dew point 19° C, and an altimeter setting 29.79 inches of mercury.

Spatial Disorientation

According to FAA Advisory Circular AC 60-4A, "Pilot's Spatial Disorientation," tests conducted with qualified instrument pilots indicated that it can take as long as 35 seconds to establish full control by instruments after a loss of visual reference of the earth's surface. AC 60-4A further states that surface references and the natural horizon may become obscured even though visibility may be above VFR minimums, and that an inability to perceive the natural horizon or surface references is common during flights over water, at night, in sparsely-populated areas, and in low-visibility conditions. 



Pilot Information

Certificate: Private
Age: 65, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: 3-point
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 3 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 07/31/2015
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time:  790 hours (Total, all aircraft), 710 hours (Total, this make and model), 700 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 30 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 15 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft) 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: CIRRUS
Registration: N225JB
Model/Series: SR20
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 2000
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 1059
Landing Gear Type: Tricycle
Seats: 4
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 03/31/2016, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 3000 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 1985 Hours as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: Continental
ELT: Installed, not activated
Engine Model/Series: IO-360
Registered Owner: On file
Rated Power:
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Instrument Conditions
Condition of Light: Dawn
Observation Facility, Elevation: KDAB, 41 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 7 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1127 UTC
Direction from Accident Site: 10°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Scattered / 500 ft agl
Visibility:  6 Miles
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 6 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: / None
Wind Direction: 340°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: / N/A
Altimeter Setting: 29.79 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 19°C / 19°C
Precipitation and Obscuration:  Moderate - Mist
Departure Point: Daytona Beach, FL (7FL6)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: IFR
Destination: LUMBERTON, NC (LBT)
Type of Clearance: IFR
Departure Time: 0637 EST
Type of Airspace: Class G

Airport Information

Airport: SPRUCE CREEK (7FL6)
Runway Surface Type: Asphalt
Airport Elevation: 23 ft
Runway Surface Condition: Vegetation
Runway Used: 23
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width: 4000 ft / 176 ft
VFR Approach/Landing: None

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Serious
Latitude, Longitude:  29.070833, -81.070833 (est)



NTSB Identification: ERA17LA113
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, February 24, 2017 in Daytona Beach, FL
Aircraft: CIRRUS SR20, registration: N225JB
Injuries: 2 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On February 24, 2017, about 0639 eastern standard time, a Cirrus SR-20, N255JB, was destroyed when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Spruce Creek Airport (7FL6), Daytona Beach, Florida. The private pilot and passenger were seriously injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed. The personal flight, destined for Lumberton Regional Airport (LBT) Lumberton, North Carolina, was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

Preliminary radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) depicted the airplane climbing out on runway heading to about 300 feet mean sea level, before beginning a descending right turn to the north. About two minutes later, radar contact was lost at an altitude of 50 feet on a northerly ground track.

An FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident site. According to the inspector, the engine was separated from the airframe. The wings, cockpit, fuselage, and empennage all sustained extensive impact damage.

The weather conditions reported at Dayton Beach Regional Airport, Florida, located about 7 nautical miles north of the accident site, at 0627, included scattered clouds at 500 feet, wind from 340 at 7 knots, visibility 6 statute miles, mist, temperature 19 degrees C, dew point 19 degrees C, and an altimeter setting 29.79 inches of mercury.

The wreckage was retained for further examination.

3 comments:

  1. I had a very close call taking off at night for a VFR refresher flight with my CFII. During my run-up the sky was slightly light to the northwest but when I pulled out onto runway 24 the sky went black. As I rolled down the runway I had the runway edge lights for reference but once I rotated I lost sight of the lights and was pitching up way too steep. My CFII pushed the nose down and said to me "what are you doing"? I didn't even realize what was happening but my wife filming from the back seat sure did! From now on at night as soon as I rotate I go straight to instruments and pitch up 10 degrees on the attitude indicator. My CFII earned his money that flight to say the least as without his intervention I would have stalled the aircraft and probably left a smoking hole alongside the runway. Since then I've decided to work on my instrument rating and have about 40 hours towards it.

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  2. The accident pilot wasn't on a VFR refresher flight. He's an instrument rated pilot with 80 hours instrument time. No excuses. He screwed up!

    ReplyDelete