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NTSB Identification: LAX07FA021
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, October 25, 2006 in Meadview, AZ
Aircraft: Cirrus SR22, registration: N121LD
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected
when the final report has been completed.
On October 25, 2006, at 1208 mountain standard time, a Cirrus SR22, N121LD, reported icing conditions at 13,000 feet mean
sea level (msl), disappeared from radar, and then impacted terrain about 24 nautical miles northeast of Meadview, Arizona.
The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The instrument rated
private pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries and the airplane was destroyed. A combination of visual and meteorological
conditions prevailed along the route of flight and the airplane was being operated under an instrument flight rules (IFR)
clearance. The pilot departed from Lake Tahoe Airport, South Lake Tahoe, California, about 1030 Pacific daylight time, and
was destined for the Grand Canyon National Park Airport, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
According to a family friend, the pilot met his wife and two children in the San Francisco area on October 23. On October
24, they flew to South Lake Tahoe where they spent the night. On October 25, the day of the accident, the pilot planned to
fly to the Grand Canyon where he and his family would go hiking.
The airplane was last refueled at a fixed base operator at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada, on October
23. The fueling invoice indicated that the right and left fuel tanks were topped off with the addition of 24.1 gallons of
fuel. On the invoice, the pilot's estimated departure time from the airport was noted as 1000 on October 24.
A fixed base operator employee at Lake Tahoe Airport stated that the pilot arrived at the airport on October 24, from
Reno. The airplane was secured to the ramp and no fueling services were provided. The pilot returned to the airport the following
morning and found frost on the airplane. He and his family waited while the sun rose and melted the frost accumulation. They
departed about 1030.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, an Safety Board specialist from the Office of Research
and Engineering, two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors from the Las Vegas Flight Standards District Office
(FSDO), and one investigator from FAA Aircraft Accident Investigation responded to the accident site on October 26, 2007.
Additional investigative personnel from Cirrus Design Corporation, Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS), AmSafe Aviation, and
Teledyne Continental Motors, who were parties to the investigation, responded to the site to assist.
The airplane impacted sloped desert terrain at an elevation of approximately 4,520 feet msl on a westerly heading. All
of the flight control surfaces were attached or partially attached to the structure. There was no fire. The wreckage was generally
confined to the impact area, and except for the area immediately surrounding the wreckage, minimal ground scarring was observed.
The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) was examined. The parachute was out of its housing, draped over the empennage
and aft fuselage section of the airframe. Some of the gores (panels that make up the canopy of the parachute) remained folded.
The suspension lines were intact and undamaged. The deployment cable was continuous from the cockpit handle aft through the
fuselage to the rocket housing area. The rocket and the deployment bag cover were located approximately 288 feet east of the
accident site.
Based on preliminary weather information obtained by a Safety Board meteorologist, local weather included AIRMETS (Airman's
Meteorological Information) for icing (approximately 65 nautical miles northeast of the accident site) and moderate turbulence
(within the accident site area). In addition, a convective SIGMET (Significant Meteorological Information) was issued for
an area encompassing the accident site. A convective SIGMET implies severe or greater turbulence, severe icing, and low-level
wind shear.
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