CHI06FA186 · Cirrus Design Corp. SR-22

The airplane was destroyed when it impacted a tree and terrain during a go-around. The flight had departed from an airport about 45 minutes prior to the accident, and had flown an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight to the destination airport. The pilot had cancelled IFR and had entered the local traffic pattern for landing. A witness reported that he observed the airplane over the approach end of the runway at an altitude of 150 - 175 feet above ground level (agl). He reported that the airplane was "diving for the runway." The airplane continued to "dive" until it was about one half way down the runway when the nose of the airplane leveled out at an altitude of about 75 feet agl. About two-thirds down the runway, the airplane "banked hard to the left" and he could see the top of both wings. He lost sight of the airplane behind a line of trees, and later heard a "thud" followed by another thud. Two construction workers, who were working on a house located about 1/8 of a mile from the accident site, reported that they heard the airplane as it flew over the house. They described the engine noise as being "extremely loud" prior to the sound of the airplane impacting the trees. The on-site inspection revealed that the airplane impacted an oak tree about 75 feet in height that was located in a residential neighborhood that bordered the airport property. The airplane impacted the top of the tree in left wing down attitude. The descent angle from the oak tree to the initial impact point was about 35 - 40 degrees. Flight control cable continuity was confirmed from the flight controls to their respective attach points on the flight control surfaces. The inspection of the engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. The propeller exhibited characteristics indicative of engine power. The flap switch was found in the 100% (full down) setting. The flap actuator arm protruded approximately 1/4 inch from its housing which was consistent with a flap setting of 100% (full down). The procedures for a Balked Landing/Go-Around in the airplane's Pilot Operating Handbook stated that flaps should be set at 50 percent for the go-around.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset