N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Silver Peak, Nevada 89047
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9:26 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane departed and climbed to a cruise altitude of 16,500 feet. The pilot set the autopilot to continue the flight over an area of sparsely populated desert terrain. He stated that he then took sleeping pills in an attempt to take his life. When the fuel was exhausted in the selected tank, the engine lost power. The airplane’s autopilot was equipped with an envelope protection feature, which placed the airplane into a controlled descent that was maintained to ground impact. Local law enforcement personnel who responded to the scene of the accident found the airplane relatively intact with the wings, empennage, and engine still attached to the fuselage and the injured pilot seated in the left front seat.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s incapacitation due to sleeping pills, which led to the airplane impacting terrain in an autopilot-controlled descent following a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/10/2013
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 926
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Silver Peak
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89047
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 375412N
Event Location Longitude 1174046W
Event Location Airport N/A
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 956 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID TPH
Elevation of weather observation facility 5418
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 29
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 19
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.24
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32665
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 14 2014 5:35PM
User who most recently changed record strj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N205KT
NTSB Number WPR13LA186
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CIRRUS DESIGN CORP
Aircraft Model SR22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2112
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
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 Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Sep 17 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 890
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name STUART SMITH
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City MALIBU
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90265-4079
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name STUART SMITH
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City MALIBU
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 90265-4079
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 No
Departure Airport Code HND
Departure City Las Vegas
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 752
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Silver Peak
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 29 2014 7:04PM
User who most recently changed record coos
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 --