# NTSB ERA09IA331: Cirrus Design SR22, N34TG, Elkin, NC, June 9, 2009 - Type: NTSB incident investigation - Classification: Incident · No injuries · Incident investigation · Final report - Date: June 8, 2009, 20:15 local (Jun 9, 2009, 00:15 UTC) - Place: Elkin, NC - Coordinates: 36.279998, -80.786109 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2800&lon=-80.7861&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/340) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 6, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: Cirrus Aircraft, FAA/FSDO, Teledyne Continental Motors - NTSB case key (mKey): 73988 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA09IA331 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/73988/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=73988 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09IA331 ## Probable cause A total loss of engine power due to the failure of the No. 2 piston as a result of a fatigue crack of undetermined origin. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Engine (reciprocating): recip eng cyl section](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058530): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Malfunction (probable cause) ## Analysis The pilot stated that he was at a cruise altitude of 6,000 feet mean sea level when he heard a loud bang. Oil began to flow over the windshield and the pilot decided to activate the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. The airplane descended under the parachute into a cornfield. Examination of the engine revealed the No. 2 piston had failed. Metallurgical examination of the No. 2 piston showed it had failed due to a fatigue crack that originated adjacent to the piston pin in the pin boss area. The exact location of the fatigue crack and the cause of fatigue crack initiation could not be determined due to extensive damage in the area of origin. Damage to the other components submitted for examination likely occurred as a result of the failure of the piston once the fatigue crack reached a critical size. While the pin boss is an area under high stress and it is possible that operational factors, such as improper timing, could initiate a fatigue crack, the investigation could not determine the cause of the fatigue crack. ## Factual narrative On June 8, 2009, about 2015 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N34TG, experienced an engine failure near Elkin, North Carolina. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained minor damage. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the event. The pilot stated that he was in cruise flight at an altitude of 6,000 feet mean sea level (msl), when he heard a loud bang followed by a violent vibration of the airplane. He said that prior to this event, all engine instruments were in the normal operating range. He contacted air traffic control and requested to be vectored to the nearest airport, Elkin Municipal Airport. The airplane continued to vibrate violently, oil began to flow over the windshield, and forward vision was lost. The pilot decided to activate the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) at an altitude of 6,000 feet msl, and the airplane descended under the parachute into a cornfield. The pilot, age 63, holds a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His certificate was updated on March 30, 2007. The pilot's most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on January 16, 2009, with limitations for lenses for near vision. The pilot reported 2,531 total flight hours, with 900 flight hours in the SR22. The four seat, low-wing, fixed gear airplane, serial number (S/N) 0386, was manufactured in 2002. It was powered by a Continental IO-550-N7, 310 horsepower engine and equipped with a Hartzell three-bladed propeller. Review of the aircraft logbook revealed that the most recent annual inspection was conducted on October 30, 2008, at an airplane total time of 876.4 hours. The current Hobbs time indicated 928.9 hours. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the airplane descended through trees into a cornfield. The airframe and flight control system components revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction. The examination of the engine revealed it had a 6-inch diameter hole at the top rear of the engine case, below the right magneto. The right magneto was broken away from its mount. Fragments of the No. 2 piston were located externally on the engine case. Examination of the oil quantity revealed that the engine still had 4 quarts of engine oil remaining in the sump. The engine was removed by Precision Air Incorporated and sent to Teledyne Continental Motors to be examined under NTSB oversight. During the examination of the engine; fragments of the No. 2 piston, rings, and pin boss were found throughout the engine case and oiling system. All of these fragments were collected, and the remainder of the piston assembly was removed for further examination. The fragments, along with the No. 2 piston assembly were sentto the NTSB Materials Laboratory for examination. The metallurgical examination revealed that the No. 2 piston failed due to a fatigue crack that originated adjacent to the pin in the pin boss area. The exact location of the fatigue crack and the cause of fatigue crack initiation could not be determined due to extensive damage in the area of origin. During the examination of the engine, no other valve train abnormalities were noted within the engine. ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/340) (defining event) - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N34TG](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N34TG), registered now, S/N 0386, built 2002 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22 - Registry model: [Cirrus Design SR22](https://openairdocs.org/model/cirrus-design-sr22) (registry code 2130001) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-550 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-series) (registry code 17042, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 0386 - Airframe hours: 928 - Engines: CONT MOTOR IO-550 SERIES 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Minor damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Obi-1 At Pensacola Inc - Registered owner: Obi-1 At Pensacola Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 30, 2008, 52 hours before - Departed: 47N, Manville, NJ - Destination: SPA, Spartanburg, SC - Flight plan: IFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 63; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 2,531 total, 900 in this make and model, 2,500 as pilot in command, 50 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 10° at 6 knots - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: UKF, 15 nm away ## Docket (19 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 23, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=73988. 7.7 MB in all. - Cockpit Display Factual Report (item 1, .PDF, 255 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319450&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report-Master.PDF - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 1 Data (item 2, .CSV, 18 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319440&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%201%20Data-Master.csv - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 2 Data (item 3, .CSV, 167 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319441&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%202%20Data-Master.csv - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 3 Data (item 4, .CSV, 183 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319442&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%203%20Data-Master.csv - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 4 Data (item 5, .CSV, 145 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319443&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%204%20Data-Master.csv - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 5 Data (item 6, .CSV, 142 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319444&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%205%20Data-Master.csv - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 6 Data (item 7, .CSV, 45 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319445&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%206%20Data-Master.csv - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 7 Data (item 8, .CSV, 25 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319446&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%207%20Data-Master.csv - Cockpit Display Factual Report - Figure 8 Data (item 9, .CSV, 152 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40319447&FileExtension=.csv&FileName=Cockpit%20Display%20Factual%20Report%20-%20Figure%208%20Data-Master.csv - Materials Laboratory 15 - Factual Report 09-083 (item 10, .PDF, 1.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40320787&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Materials%20Laboratory%2015%20-%20Factual%20Report%2009-083-Master.PDF - Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 (item 11, .PDF, 48 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40321311&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Release%20of%20Aircraft%20Wreckage,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.15-Redacted.PDF - Other Pertinent Forms and Reports-Aircraft logbook pages (item 12, .PDF, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40322232&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Other%20Pertinent%20Forms%20and%20Reports-Aircraft%20logbook%20pages-Redacted.PDF - Other Pertinent Forms and Reports-ENGINE LOGBOOK PAGES (item 13, .PDF, 575 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40322236&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Other%20Pertinent%20Forms%20and%20Reports-ENGINE%20LOGBOOK%20PAGES-Redacted.PDF - Other Pertinent Forms and Reports-PROPELLER LOGBOOK PAGES (item 14, .PDF, 81 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40322237&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Other%20Pertinent%20Forms%20and%20Reports-PROPELLER%20LOGBOOK%20PAGES-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1-FAA photo-Engine case damage (item 15, .PDF, 605 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40322240&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201-FAA%20photo-Engine%20case%20damage-Master.PDF - Photo 2-FAA photo-Engine case damage (item 16, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40322241&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%202-FAA%20photo-Engine%20case%20damage-Master.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 17, .PDF, 42 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40322355&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF - Reports from Parties to the Investigation-TCM metallurgical report (item 18, .PDF, 68 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40323862&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20Parties%20to%20the%20Investigation-TCM%20metallurgical%20report-Master.PDF - Reports from Parties to the Investigation-TCM engine final report (item 19, .PDF, 1.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40323873&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20Parties%20to%20the%20Investigation-TCM%20engine%20final%20report-Redacted.PDF 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. --- 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.