July 5, 2010, Caldwell, N.J., Cirrus Design SR22

At 1724 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted a building and terrain following a go-around. The private pilot and two passengers were killed. Visual conditions existed. A student pilot observed the airplane on final approach and noted it was "a bit high and a bit fast." His instructor commented the airplane was not stabilized and "this would likely be a close call." The student reported the airplane touched down midway down the runway and appeared to be "rocking or bouncing," at which time it initiated an abrupt climb at a relatively high nose-up attitude.

Editorial Staff

Friday, August 27, 2010 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A private pilot and two passengers were killed when their airplane crashed following an unstable go-around.
The aircraft's approach was observed as high and fast, leading to a bounced landing and an abrupt, rapid climb during the go-around.
After climbing to approximately 200 feet AGL, the airplane lost control, appearing to hang before descending vertically and impacting terrain in a near-vertical, nose-low attitude.

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At 1724 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted a building and terrain following a go-around. The private pilot and two passengers were killed. Visual conditions existed.

A student pilot observed the airplane on final approach and noted it was “a bit high and a bit fast.” His instructor commented the airplane was not stabilized and “this would likely be a close call.” The student reported the airplane touched down midway down the runway and appeared to be “rocking or bouncing,” at which time it initiated an abrupt climb at a relatively high nose-up attitude. The airplane climbed extremely fast at the end of the runway. At about 200 feet agl, the airplane did not level off, but the nose attitude dropped slightly. The airplane seemed to hang in the air for several seconds and then descended almost straight down, disappearing behind the tree line.

Portions of the accident sequence were recorded by building-mounted security cameras. The examined videos revealed a low-speed loss of aircraft control, a steep vertical descent and an impact with terrain in a near-vertical, nose-low attitude.