What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
On December 15, 2009, at 1520 EDT, a Cirrus SR-22, N723LJ, serial no. 2402, owned and operated by mark allan nichter, departed albert whitted airport, spg, and headed west toward the gulf of Mexico. The aircraft did not return to spg. An alert notice (alnot) was filed on December 17, 2009, after a missing persons report was submitted by family members. The last known radar fix from jacksonville center, ARTCC, on December 15, 2009, was 25 miles southeast of blond intersection at 1539 EDT, VFR 5,800 feet and climbing. At 1615 EDT, tyndall arsr-4 reported aircraft leaving radar coverage at 9,900 feet, 162 miles, 176.66 degrees, from kpam (lat: 27 21 49.737 long: 085 26 01.089 w). The plane was in a turn but no rate of descent. The weather was poor when the signal was lost. No flight plan was filed. A coast guard search was conducted from 17 to 19 December 2009. The SR-22 has usable fuel capacity of 92 gallons with max range of 1170 nautical miles. The last known fuel purchase of 19.3 gallons was 11/20/2009. Based on the last known radar fix and if the aircraft had maximum fuel at the time of departure, N723LJ could have reached the Florida central coast, northern Florida panhandle, or cuba. No debris of any kind found during search. The pilot and aircraft are still missing. Note: block 21, factors, operational, weather block was checked as a secondary factor only to process this form through atqa. Programmers did not account for a missing aircraft situation when developing the software. As such, the technical and operational blocks can not be checked "unknown" at the same time. According to the atqa help desk, programmers should have this resolved by June 2010.
As the FAA filed it
ON DECEMBER 15, 2009, AT 1520 EDT, A CIRRUS SR-22, N723LJ, SERIAL NO. 2402, OWNED AND OPERATED BY MARK ALLAN NICHTER, DEPARTED ALBERT WHITTED AIRPORT, SPG, AND HEADED WEST TOWARD THE GULF OF MEXICO. THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT RETURN TO SPG. AN ALERT NOTICE (ALNOT) WAS FILED ON DECEMBER 17, 2009, AFTER A MISSING PERSONS REPORT WAS SUBMITTED BY FAMILY MEMBERS. THE LAST KNOWN RADAR FIX FROM JACKSONVILLE CENTER, ARTCC, ON DECEMBER 15, 2009, WAS 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BLOND INTERSECTION AT 1539 EDT, VFR 5,800 FEET AND CLIMBING. AT 1615 EDT, TYNDALL ARSR-4 REPORTED AIRCRAFT LEAVING RADAR COVERAGE AT 9,900 FEET, 162 MILES, 176.66 DEGREES, FROM KPAM (LAT: 27 21 49.737 LONG: 085 26 01.089 W). THE PLANE WAS IN A TURN BUT NO RATE OF DESCENT. THE WEATHER WAS POOR WHEN THE SIGNAL WAS LOST. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. A COAST GUARD SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED FROM 17 TO 19 DECEMBER 2009. THE SR-22 HAS USABLE FUEL CAPACITY OF 92 GALLONS WITH MAX RANGE OF 1170 NAUTICAL MILES. THE LAST KNOWN FUEL PURCHASE OF 19.3 GALLONS WAS 11/20/2009. BASED ON THE LAST KNOWN RADAR FIX AND IF THE AIRCRAFT HAD MAXIMUM FUEL AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE, N723LJ COULD HAVE REACHED THE FLORIDA CENTRAL COAST, NORTHERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE, OR CUBA. NO DEBRIS OF ANY KIND FOUND DURING SEARCH. THE PILOT AND AIRCRAFT ARE STILL MISSING. NOTE: BLOCK 21, FACTORS, OPERATIONAL, WEATHER BLOCK WAS CHECKED AS A SECONDARY FACTOR ONLY TO PROCESS THIS FORM THROUGH ATQA. PROGRAMMERS DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR A MISSING AIRCRAFT SITUATION WHEN DEVELOPING THE SOFTWARE. AS SUCH, THE TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL BLOCKS CAN NOT BE CHECKED "UNKNOWN" AT THE SAME TIME. ACCORDING TO THE ATQA HELP DESK, PROGRAMMERS SHOULD HAVE THIS RESOLVED BY JUNE 2010.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.