Cirrus SR22 accident near Farmington, NM
On March 31, 2019, a Cirrus SR22 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Farmington, NM. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 31, 2019
- Place
- Farmington, NM
- Aircraft
- Cirrus SR22 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.218°N, 108.016°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190331X20824
Official records · WPR19FA103
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (Zdv) Audio: Audio recording (WAV), on ntsb.gov
- Cedar City Flight Service Station Audio: Audio recording (WAV), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 31, 2019, about 1439 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Cirrus SR-22, N173CT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Farmington, New Mexico. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight departed Cal Black Memorial Airport (U96), Halls Crossing, Utah, about 1345 with a planned destination of Big Spring Mc Mahon-Wrinkle Airport (KBPG), Big Spring, Texas. According to the pilot's family, he did not have any meetings or appointments that necessitated his return by a specific time, and he had flown the accident route of flight at least a dozen times before and was familiar with the terrain. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data (See Figure 1) revealed the accident airplane depart at 1351 and climb on an eastbound heading. While the target was climbing out of a transponder-reported altitude of 9,125 ft mean sea level (msl), the accident pilot contacted Cedar City Flight Service Station to activate a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan. During that exchange, the briefer asked the pilot if he had the AIRMET advisory for icing and mountain obscuration for the planned route of flight, and the pilot reported that he did. About 1400, the target had reached 14,000 ft msl, and about that time, the pilot contacted the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDV) requesting VFR flight following services. The controller issued the airplane a discrete transponder code, and a few minutes later,
Probable cause
The noninstrument-rated pilot's continued visual flight rules flight into an area of forecast instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of control.
More accidents in NM
- Gates Learjet 25D, Sep 5, 1993
- Piper PA-32-300, Dec 26, 1982
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-30, Jun 25, 1992
- Cessna 421C, Feb 11, 1985
- Beech 58, Mar 26, 1982
Browse: New Mexico · Cirrus aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
