| Crash location | 35.307500°N, 82.430556°W |
| Nearest city | Hendersonville, NC
35.318728°N, 82.460953°W 1.9 miles away |
| Tail number | N874SR |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 01 Dec 2007 |
| Aircraft type | Cirrus SR22 |
| Additional details: | None |
On December 1, 2007, at 1634 eastern standard time, a Cirrus SR22, N874SR, registered to Cirrus D and S LLC, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, had a loss of directional control on landing roll out at Hendersonville Airport, Hendersonville, North Carolina. The airplane received substantial damage and a post crash fire ensued. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The private pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight originated from Johnson County Airport, Mountain City, Tennessee, on December 1, 2007, at 1500.
The pilot stated he landed on runway 15 and was on landing roll out when a gust of wind caused the left wing to come up. He applied left aileron and there was no response. The airplane started turning to the right. He lost directional control of the airplane and it came to a stop on the runway. He and his passenger exited the airplane and observed a post crash fire in the engine compartment. The pilot obtained a fire extinguisher from the airplane and was unable to extinguish the fire.
A witness stated he heard the pilot call in on the UNICOM radio frequency and report that he was landing on runway 15. He went outside to make a parking space available for the arriving airplane. The witness observed the airplane on final approach and everything appeared to be normal. He then heard an increase in engine power and looked up at the arriving airplane. The airplane was about 2 feet above the runway "Flailing," the airplane rose to an altitude of less than ten feet, and appeared to be banking and yawing out of control. The right wing looked as if the wing hit the ground, the airplane went off the runway, hit an embankment, and went back on the runway coming to a complete stop. The witness observed a small fire in the front of the aircraft, and called the 911 emergency operator.
The 1654 surface weather observation at Ashville Regional Airport, Ashville, North Carolina, located 11 nautical miles southeast of the crash site was: wind 150-degrees at 8 knots. No gusting winds were reported at the time of the accident.
The Chief Pilot for Henderson County Sheriff's Department responded to the accident site. The officer stated the wreckage was facing 130 degrees magnetic in an upright position on fire. The left main landing gear and empennage had separated, the engine compartment was on the runway, and the nose landing gear was bent to the right. Examination of the runway revealed the airplane touched down 214 feet from the displaced threshold and bounced. A tire mark and two white paint transfer marks, about 3 to 6 inches in length were present on the runway. The airplane touched down again 559 feet just left of runway centerline, and additional paint transfer marks were present on the runway extending 1 to 2 inches in diameter curving to the right. About 918 feet from the displaced threshold, another set of white paint transfer marks, 36 feet in length were observed in a left arc on the runway. Additional tire marks were present on the runway in a left arc at 1,011 and 1,057.8 feet. A white paint transfer mark, 12 to 18 inches in length was present on the left edge of the runway 1, 170 feet from the displaced threshold. The airplane departed the left side of the runway 1,302 feet from the displaced threshold. A narrow line was present in the grass extending 174 feet in an arc from the runway towards a berm and back towards the runway with propeller ground strike scars. The airplane turned to the right and came to rest on the runway 1,585 feet from the displaced threshold.
Examination of the airframe, and flight controls revealed no anomalies. The propeller spinner exhibited torsional twisting. Both propeller blades remained attached to the propeller hub. One propeller blade was bent span wise along its entire length. A gouge was present on the tip of the propeller blade The propeller blade exhibited leading edge polishing from the propeller tip inboard to the propeller tip stripe. The propeller blade rotated in the hub past its stop in the high pitch direction. Another propeller blade exhibited "S" bending; span wise scratching; chord wise scratching; leading edge polishing, and nicks were present at the outboard propeller tip stripe. The propeller blade rotated in the hub past its stop in the high pitch direction. The remaining propeller blade exhibited forward bending at the tip of the propeller blade; polishing at the propeller tip stripes, and chord wise scratching.
The engine was examined by the FAA and a partial disassembly of the engine was conducted. All valve covers were removed. The top sparkplugs were removed and exhibited worn normal combustion deposits. The propeller was rotated by hand and compression and suction was obtained at all cylinders. The rocker arms and valves moved when the crankshaft was rotated. Continuity of the crankshaft was confirmed to the rear accessory gears and to the valve train when rotated by hand. The magnetos were removed from their mounts and spark at the ignition towers could not be verified due to fire damage; however the impulse couplings appeared to operate when rotated.
The pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing resulting in a loss of directional control.