ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 58965
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| Date: | Sunday 15 March 2009 |
| Time: | 13:43 |
| Type: |  Cirrus SR22 GTS X G3 |
| Owner/operator: | N2877B LLC |
| Registration: | N213CP |
| MSN: | 3142 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2008 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 117 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental IO-550N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Mallory Place, Flower Hill, Gaithersburg MD. -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Gaithersburg, MD (GAI) |
| Kalamazoo, MI (AZO) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During the initial climb after takeoff on an instrument-flight-rules flight, as the airplane entered clouds about 700 to 1,000 feet above mean sea level, the passenger door opened about 2 to 3 inches, which allowed rain, cold air, and increased noise to enter the cockpit. The pilot said that he became spatially disoriented and that the airplane subsequently "stalled and started to spin." The pilot activated the Cirrus Airplane Parachute System and the airplane descended toward the ground. The left wing struck a parked vehicle and the airplane came to rest on a road about 1/2 mile west of the airport. The airplane's left wing was fractured and the empennage was separated just forward of the horizontal stabilizer. Examination of the airplane, which included the passenger door locking mechanism, did not reveal any mechanical anomalies. The pilot reported 327 hours of total flight experience, which included 161 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane, and about 7 and 63 hours of actual and simulated instrument flight experience, respectively. A weather observation taken at the departure airport about the time of the accident included a visibility of 2 miles and overcast clouds at 400 feet.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s spatial disorientation after the passenger door opened during flight in instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to properly secure the door latch.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Mar-2009 22:15 | angels one five | Added |
| 16-Mar-2009 07:43 | slowkid | Updated |
| 28-Oct-2009 14:43 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 01-Dec-2017 12:15 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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