A Skilled Pilot, a Routine Approach, an Unexpected Catastrophe

We know that his airplane stalled, but why it stalled is still a mystery.

Peter Garrison

Friday, November 18, 2022 at 12:10 PM ET

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Greene County Regional Airport in Ohio [Courtesy: Greene County, Ohio]

Key Takeaways:

An experienced pilot died when his Cirrus SR22T stalled and spun during a base-to-final turn, attributed by the NTSB to insufficient airspeed at a steep bank angle.
The accident was likely a result of multiple factors, including the pilot rushing to meet a deadline, leading to an unusually low, close-in traffic pattern with steeply banked turns.
Contributing factors may have included residual airframe ice despite anti-icing use, and a sudden gust of wind, illustrating how a combination of seemingly minor issues can lead to a fatal accident.

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On a freezing January evening in 2016, a Cirrus SR22T approached Greene County Regional Airport (I19) near Dayton, Ohio, its home field, after a 100 nm IFR hop from Indianapolis.

Conditions at the airport were VMC, with a 1,700-foot ceiling, 10-mile visibility and a 9-knot wind gusting to 14 and varying from 240 to 330 degrees. The sun had just set, and the temperature on the ground was 32 degrees Fahrenheit.