# Accident 20200520006919A: Cirrus Design Corp SR20, Santa Maria, CA, May 20, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 20, 2020, 10:42 local time
- Place: Santa Maria, CA
- Airport: Santa Maria Municipal
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.8931° N, 120.4547° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8931&lon=-120.4547&mi=10
- Aircraft: N883PJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N883PJ-2022-03-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cirrus Design SR20 (registry code 2130000, https://openairdocs.org/model/cirrus-design-sr20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR20
- Reported engine: CONTINENTAL IO-360
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 49 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR20LA152](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20LA152) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200520006919A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON MAY 20, 2020, AT 1042 PDT, N883PJ, S/N 1217 A CIRRUS SR20 AIRCRAFT CRASHED AND SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE SANTA MARIA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (SMX) INTO A SCHOOL YARD LOCATED AT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, SANTA MARIA, CA. RESULTING IN  FATAL INJURIES TO THE SINGLE OCCUPANT ( PILOT ). THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED FROM VAN NUYS CA. AIRPORT (VNY), AND TRAVELED TO SMX WHERE IT HAD PERFORMED A TOUCH AND GO, AND REMAINED IN LEFT TRAFFIC FOR RUNWAY 30 AND AT 10:42:42 PDT DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR.

A WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT TURNING; THE BANK ANGLE APPEARED TO BE 90 DEGREES THEN SAW THE AIRCRAFT STRAIGHTEN OUT, WOBBLE, THEN DESCEND OUT OF VIEW.  OTHER WITNESSES STATED THEY OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT HEADING TOWARDS THE GROUND WITH AN UNOPENED PARACHUTE STREAMING BEHIND IT. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED ON THE RALPH DUNLAP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PLAYGROUND.  THE POST IMPACT FIRE DESTROYED ALL BUT APPROXIMATELY 8 FEET OF THE AIRCRAFT?S TAIL SECTION.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR20LA152](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20LA152), May 20, 2020: Cirrus SR20 (N883PJ), Santa Maria, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a steep and descending turn to final approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.

## Other reports on N883PJ (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20150811023579I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150811023579I), Aug 11, 2015: Cirrus Design Corp SR20 (N883PJ), Long Beach, CA, Minor damage. [privacy data omitted] Was the PIC of aircraft N883PJ when it had a prop strike on runway 25R at Long Beach Airport (lgb) on August 11, 2015. The facts show…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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