# Accident 20240725009889A: Cirrus Design Corp SR22, Trenton, ME, July 25, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 25, 2024, 12:25 local time
- Place: Trenton, ME
- Airport: Hancock County Bar Harbor Airp
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.4574° N, 68.3579° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.4574&lon=-68.3579&mi=10
- Aircraft: N990PT, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N990PT) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cirrus Design SR22 (registry code 2130001, https://openairdocs.org/model/cirrus-design-sr22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-550-N (registry code 17215, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO-550-N
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 4,384 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA24FA323](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24FA323) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240725009889A

## Narrative

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

ACCORDING TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL INFORMATION , THE FLIGHT DEPARTED MORRISTOWN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (MMU), MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, AT 1016 DESTINED FOR HANCOCK COUNTY / BAR HARBOR AIRPORT (BHB), BAR HARBOR, MAINE. ATC SERVICES WERE PROVIDED BY BANGOR ATCT-TRACON. A PREVIOUS ARRIVAL INTO BAR HARBOR HAD GONE MISSED AND THAT INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED TO THE ACCIDENT PILOT WITH A CAVEAT THAT IT WAS ABOUT AN HOUR OLD. THE PILOT ADVISED HE WOULD TRY BAR HARBOR AND IF GOING MISSED HE WOULD DIVERT TO BANGOR. THE CONTROLLER ASKED THE PILOT IF HE WAS IN RECEIPT OF NOTAMS AND WX FOR BAR HARBOR AND THE PILOT ADVISED YES. PILOT WAS VECTORED FOR THE ILS RWY22 AT KBHB AND SUBSEQUENTLY CLEARED FOR THE APPROACH. PILOT WAS SWITCHED TO CTAF AT 1621 UTC AND ADVISED TO CANCEL ON THE GROUND. WHEN PILOT WAS WAS ABOUT 3 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT HE ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT CTAF AND ADVISE HE WAS INBOUND, HOWERVER HE MADE THE TRANSMISSION ON BANGOR TRACON'S FREQUENCY. PILOT SWITCHED TO THE CORRECT FREQUENCY AND CONTINUED THE APPROACH.

AN FAA TECH OPS EMPLOYEE , WHO WAS WORKING ON THE RUNWAY LIGHTING AT BHB, STATED HE WAS TROUBLESHOOTING THE MEDIUM APPROACH LIGHT SYSTEM WHEN HE HEARD AN AIRPLANE APPROACHING FOR LANDING. HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE’S ENGINE NOISE GO TO FULL POWER AND WHEN HE LOOKED UP AT THE AIRPLANE, HE NOTICED THAT IT WAS IN A SHARP LEFT TURN BEFORE IT DESCENDED TO GROUND IMPACT. HE FURTHER DESCRIBED THAT THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE “BRUTAL” AND THAT HE COULD BARELY SEE THE AIRPLANE AT 100 YARDS AWAY DUE TO THE THICK FOG.

VIDEO RECORDED FROM A MOVING CAR SHOWED THE AIRPLANE APPEARING FROM HEAVY FOG ABOUT 40FT ABOVE THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 22 IN A STEEP, DESCENDING TURN BEFORE IMPACTING THE GROUND. THE RECORDED WEATHER CONDITIONS AT BHB, AT 1156, INCLUDED A VISIBILITY OF 1.5 MILES IN LIGHT RAIN AND MIST, AND OVERCAST CEILING AT 300 FT.

THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ABOUT 600 FT TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 22. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN A WOODED AREA, AND WAS ORIENTED ON A MAGNETIC HEADING OF 040°. THE AIRFRAME WAS LARGELY CONSUMED BY A POST-IMPACT FIRE. ALL MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE AIRPLANE WERE ACCOUNTED FOR WITHIN THE COMPACT WRECKAGE AREA.

## 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 ERA24FA323](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24FA323), Jul 25, 2024: Cirrus Design SR22 (N990PT), Trenton, ME, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s aggressive pitch and power control inputs while executing a missed approach, which resulted in his spatial disorientation and a loss of airplane control.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.