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 fatally crashed a Cirrus SR22T due to an aerodynamic stall and spin during a base-to-final turn at his home airport.
The NTSB attributed the accident to the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the turn, causing the wing's critical angle of attack to be exceeded.
The article suggests the pilot was likely rushing to land, leading to an unusually low, close-in traffic pattern with steep turns, which increased the angle of attack and stall risk.
Additional potential factors included residual ice on the wings (despite prior anti-icing), a sudden gusting crosswind, and the pilot's over-familiarity possibly contributing to an unsafe maneuver.

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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.