CHI06FA186

The airplane was destroyed when it impacted a tree and terrain during a go-around. The flight had departed from an airport about 45 minutes prior to the accident, and had flown an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight to the destination airport. The pilot had cancelled IFR and had entered the local traffic pattern for landing. A witness reported that he observed the airplane over the approach end of the runway at an altitude of 150 - 175 feet above ground level (agl). He reported that the airplane was "diving for the runway." The airplane continued to "dive" until it was about one half way down the runway when the nose of the airplane leveled out at an altitude of about 75 feet agl. About two-thirds down the runway, the airplane "banked hard to the left" and he could see the top of both wings. He lost sight of the airplane behind a line of trees, and later heard a "thud" followed by another thud. Two construction workers, who were working on a house located about 1/8 of a mile from the accident site, reported that they heard the airplane as it flew over the house. They described the engine noise as being "extremely loud" prior to the sound of the airplane impacting the trees. The on-site inspection revealed that the airplane impacted an oak tree about 75 feet in height that was located in a residential neighborhood that bordered the airport property. The airplane impacted the top of the tree in left wing down attitude. The descent angle from the oak tree to the initial impact point was about 35 - 40 degrees. Flight control cable continuity was confirmed from the flight controls to their respective attach points on the flight control surfaces. The inspection of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. The propeller exhibited characteristics indicative of engine power. The flap switch was found in the 100% (full down) setting. The flap actuator arm protruded approximately 1/4 inch from its housing which was consistent with a flap setting of 100% (full down). The procedures for a Balked Landing/Go-Around in the airplane's Pilot Operating Handbook stated that flaps should be set at 50 percent for the go-around.

History of flight

On July 11, 2006, at 0943 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR-22, N8163Q, was destroyed when it impacted a tree and terrain during a go-around after an attempted landing on runway 30 (2,500 feet by 48 feet, asphalt) at the Lee Airport (ANP), Edgewater, Maryland. The private pilot initially survived the accident and was taken to a hospital, but died about three weeks later as a result of the injuries sustained during the accident. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight departed the Ocean City Municipal Airport (26N), Ocean City, New Jersey, at 0900 with ANP as the final destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.

The route of flight on the IFR flight plan was: SIE, ENO, V268, BAL. The proposed time en route was 45 minutes at a speed of 165 knots with an en route altitude of 4,000 feet mean sea level (msl).

A witness reported that he observed the airplane enter the airport's landing pattern by entering a 45-degree entry from the northeast. The witness reported that the airplane crossed runway 30 about mid-field and entered a left downwind leg for landing on runway 30.

Another witness, who was standing on the ramp of the maintenance hangar at ANP, reported that he heard the pilot make a radio call over the airport's Unicom frequency stating that he was landing on runway 30. The witness reported that he observed the airplane over the approach end of the runway at an altitude of 150 - 175 feet above ground level (agl). He reported that the airplane was "diving for the runway" and was flying on the left side of the runway over the grass between the taxiway and the runway. The airplane continued to "dive" until it was about one half way down the runway when the nose of the airplane leveled out at an altitude of about 75 feet agl. He heard the engine noise increase, but not to full power. He reported that the airplane "banked hard to the left" and that he could see the top of both wings. He lost sight of the airplane behind a line of trees, and later heard a "thud" followed by another thud.

The same witness reported that the airplane's engine sounded normal with no backfiring or sputtering. He heard a slight increase of engine power when the nose of the airplane leveled out. He reported that the flaps were partially extended.

A third witness, who was working in his hangar located about mid-field at the airport, reported that he heard the airplane when it was over the runway. He reported that the airplane sounded like it was "not developing a lot of power" but was "coasting." Then the airplane powered up "a little bit" and then turned to the left. The witness reported that he did not see the airplane after the turn, but he heard the engine "miss" or "stop" when it was over the neighborhood. The witness ran to the accident site when he heard the crash.

Two construction workers, who were working on a house on Lee's Lane which was located about 1/8 of a mile from the accident site, reported that they heard the airplane as it flew over the house. They described the engine noise as being "extremely loud" prior to the sound of the airplane impacting the trees.

Numerous witnesses arrived at the accident site located about 100 yards from the third witness's hangar. Fuel was spilling from both fuel tanks. They removed the seat belt and shoulder harness from the pilot and pulled him from the airplane. An emergency medical helicopter arrived at the scene and the pilot was flown to a hospital.

Personnel information

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with single-engine land and instrument ratings. He held a third-class medical certificate with the following restriction: "Must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision." The pilot had a total of 2,746 flight hours. The pilot had received 9.5 hours of initial flight training in the Cirrus SR-22 in April 2004, through the Cirrus Design flight-training program in Duluth, Minnesota. He had a total of 167 hours in the SR-22.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a Cirrus SR-22, serial number 785, manufactured in 2003. The airplane seated four and had a maximum gross weight of 3,400 pounds. The engine was a 310 horsepower Continental IO-550-N engine. The airplane had an annual maintenance inspection conducted on May 1, 2006. The airplane had flown approximately 3.8 hours since the last inspection and had a total time of 391 hours.

Meteorological information

At 0954, the observed surface weather at BWI, located about 14 nautical miles north northwest of ANP, was: winds 220 degrees at 7 kts, visibility 4 statute miles, haze, temperature 28 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 22 degrees C, altimeter 30.11 inches of mercury.

Wreckage and impact information

The airplane impacted an oak tree about 75 feet in height that was located in a residential neighborhood that bordered the airport property. The airplane wreckage was found in a soybean field that was on the airport property. The coordinates of the main wreckage were 38 degrees 56.537 minutes north longitude and 076 degrees 34.227 minutes west latitude. There was no ground fire.

The oak tree exhibited strikes at the top of the tree and three large tree limbs were knocked down in a northerly direction. The same oak tree also had tree limbs that did not exhibit any damage located to the right and left of the three large limbs that were knocked down. The airplane's initial point of impact on the ground was about 30 feet from the oak tree on a magnetic heading of 060 degrees. The descent angle from the oak tree to the initial impact point was about 35 - 40 degrees.

Numerous branches were in the wreckage path between the oak tree and the main wreckage. The initial ground impact point exhibited a slash through the black dirt that was about 56 inches wide and was consistent with a propeller strike. There was a depression in the ground that was about 5 feet in length at the initial impact point going toward the main wreckage.

The main wreckage was located about 65 feet from the oak tree. The longitudinal axis of the wreckage was on a 240 magnetic heading. The engine was found on the right wing of the aircraft next to the cabin, facing aft. The engine remained attached to the firewall via control cables and hoses. The nose landing gear was separated from the fuselage and was found near the main wreckage.

The belly and floor of the cockpit forward of the spar tunnel were pushed upwards. The firewall and cockpit instrument panel were pushed back into the cockpit and were over both front seat bottom cushions. The pilot's seatbelt was found open but intact. The flap switch was found in the 100% (full down) setting. The fuel selector was set to the right tank.

The left inboard wing section remained attached to the fuselage and exhibited forward edge buckling. The wing root area from the fuselage outboard to the fresh air inlet was missing pieces of wing skin. The hole left by the missing pieces of skin contained tree leaves consistent with the trees the aircraft struck during the impact sequence. The main spar exhibited multiple delaminations along its length. The left flap was separated from one of its hinge points. The left flap outward of the mid-span hinge buckled in two places and was bent upward. The inboard trailing edge of the flap was buckled forward. A measurement was taken from the inboard side of the left flap from the forward side of the anti-scuff tape to the wing cove. The distance measured was approximately 4 inches. The left main landing gear remained attached to the left wing, but was bent to the left.

The outboard section of the left wing was broken off during the impact sequence at approximately wing station (WS) 132. The outboard section of the left wing, which included about a 3-fo