| Crash location | 36.742500°N, 104.501667°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Raton, NM
36.903358°N, 104.439153°W 11.6 miles away |
| Tail number | N702N |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 10 Aug 2017 |
| Aircraft type | Cirrus Design Corp SR22T |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 10, 2017, about 1614 mountain daylight time, a Cirrus SR22T airplane, N702N, sustained substantial damage when it veered off the runway while landing at the Raton Municipal Airport (RTN), Raton New Mexico. The private pilot sustained minor injuries and one passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was privately owned, and the personal flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The cross-country flight originated from the South Arkansas Regional Airport (ELD), Eldorado, Arkansas, and RTN was its final destination.
The pilot reported that he was checking weather conditions (METARs) at RTN every hour along the route of flight from ELD. The METAR information consistently reflected winds out of the south at no more than 7 knots. Approaching RTN, the pilot had to maneuver around convective activity about 10 miles northwest of the airport. The pilot concealed his IFR flight plan about 6-7 miles from RTN. On approach, about 4 miles from RTN, someone from the FBO radioed on Unicom frequency and stated that the winds were 170 degrees at 7 knots.
The pilot crossed the threshold of runway 20 at full flaps and 85 knots for landing. About 15 feet from touchdown, the airplane began to sink rapidly. the pilot attempted to arrest the decent, but the airplane bounced off the runway and began to be pushed hard to the left side of the runway by the wind. The pilot then initiated a go-around with full throttle and pulled back on the stick. The airplane climbed to about 15-20 feet off the ground as the stall warning went off and the right wing stalled and dropped. The airplane then struck an embankment off the right side of the runway and rolled onto its right side.
The pilot stated that once inside the FBO after the accident, a weather monitor screen showed that the winds were 170 at 7 knots, but it also showed the winds were 160 degrees, variable to 230 degrees. He also saw the windsock fully extended down runway 20. The pilot thought that he had experienced a large wind shear and tailwind shift just prior to touchdown.
The pilot did not report any mechanical or flight control problems prior to the accident. An FAA inspector who examined the airplane after the accident did not find any anomalies with the airplane of flight controls.