Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Indianapolis, Indiana 46254
Monday, August 28, 2006 10:38 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

"THIS CASE WAS MODIFIED ON MARCH 25, 2009." The right seat passenger reported that the takeoff and initial climb were uneventful until the airplane reached about 4,000 feet of altitude. That was when he noticed that the sound of the engine had changed and saw that the pilot was struggling to control the airplane. The airplane went through a series of three quick rolls and the wing dipped down. The airplane entered a counterclockwise spin. The pilot told the right seat passenger to pull the emergency parachute handle, so he pulled the throttle back to idle, and then pulled the parachute handle. The airplane impacted a water retention pond about 4 seconds later. Witnesses observed the airplane descending through the clouds with a partially deployed parachute. The inspection of the engine and airframe revealed no pre-existing anomalies. The engine data obtained from the Multi-Function Display indicated the engine was operating at full power for the entire flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed with variable cloud bases of 400 - 1,100 feet above the ground (agl) and with cloud tops reported at 3,200 feet above mean sea level. The baggage found in the baggage compartment weighed 262 pounds. The weight limit of the baggage compartment was 130 pounds maximum. The calculated takeoff condition weight of the accident airplane was 3,733 pounds. The Maximum Takeoff Weight was limited to 3,400 pounds. The center-of-gravity (CG) position was at fuselage station (FS) 148.7 inches, or 32.8 percent mean aerodynamic chord (MAC). The CG limits at maximum gross weight are from FS 143.8 inches to FS 148.1 inches. The airplane was overloaded and the CG position was aft of the CG limit. An aircraft performance study, which utilized data extracted from accident airplane, indicated that the airplane's airspeed decayed until the stall angle of attack of the wing was exceeded. The airplane was in a stalled condition for about 30 seconds and then entered a spin.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed, which resulted in a stall and subsequent spin. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, the overloaded condition of the airplane, and the CG aft of the CG limit.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/28/2006
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1038
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Indianapolis
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46254
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 394612N
Event Location Longitude 0861910W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1040 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 30
Weather Observation Facility ID EYE
Elevation of weather observation facility 823
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 600
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 3
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24109
NTSB Notification Source NTSB HQ
NTSB Notification Date Aug 28 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 25 2009 12:19PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Indianapolis FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N91MB
NTSB Number CHI06FA245
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cirrus
Aircraft Model SR22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1973
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11.6
Airframe Hours 121.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bob Law Air LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 1317
Aircraft Owner City Indianapolis
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46208
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code EYE
Departure City Indianapolis
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1034
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code HDX
Destination City Hilton Head
Destination State SC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Climb - to cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 13 2008 6:22PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --