CEN26LA044

On November 11, 2025, about 1750 central standard time, a Cirrus SR20, N866CD, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Chesterfield, Missouri. The pilot and copilot received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that during the night flight, they were on approach to the destination airport and continued to descend with the flaps set to 50%. He slowed the airplane below 100 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS) and extended the flaps to 100%. Shortly after, they heard a “bang” from the front of the airplane and the engine RPM increased. At the same time the airplane made an uncommanded right yaw and roll, and he was unable to maintain control of the airplane. As the airplane was in a steep right spiraling descent, he activated the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), then retarded the throttle and mixture levers. The airplane descended under the canopy and impacted trees and terrain in a nose low attitude. The pilots egressed the airplane without further incident. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane descended into a wooded area and the empennage separated during the accident sequence. The airplane remained suspended vertically by the parachute and harness. The propeller was embedded in the ground and the left wing was resting on the ground (see figure 1). Figure 1. Accident airplane where it came to rest (Source: FAA). The flaps were found in a fully retracted position, and the flap switch was positioned to 100%. The flap control system and associated hardware remained intact from the flap actuator to the control surfaces. The bottom of the airplane was mostly covered with engine oil and there was a large pool of engine oil in the engine cowling, but the engine did not exhibit evidence of a catastrophic failure. The airplane’s avionics were sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for data extraction. The airplane was retained to further examination.