We outline the flight of a Cirrus SR22T on November 22, 2023 equipped with the CAPS parachute. The 2 pilots did not activate the parachute system (despite being at a sufficient altitude for activation) when in trouble. The pilots died upon impact with the ground in a corn field. An eye witness to the accident described the aircraft to be in a stall only 100-200' above the ground with the wings vertical at one point before the impact with the ground and subsequent fire. The CAPS system and the flight path of N17DT is described.
(Condolences to all the families associated with this accident)

Excellent insight provided by a Cirrus pilot (YT username muledogmuledog8944) There are two reasons the SR series didn’t get certification without the parachute. Lots of “old time” instructors, including a good friend of mine, died trying to land in a cornfield, while 3 friends I know have walked away pulling it. 1: It can’t recover from a spin. Arguably, with a CFI on board especially, that shouldn’t happen. 2: in 7 out of 10 cases, on flat grass field landings, let alone a corn field as you suggest, because of the low 3” clearance of the wheel pants, and the fwd cg of the engine, the plane cartwheels into a fireball when any other aircraft besides a cirrus could land uneventfully, or at least, without substantial damage causing fatal injuries. The dead CFI who wasn’t a CSIP shared your mindset, because he hadn’t participated in the engineer led safety courses at Cirrus I have, to fully understand the importance of using the chute. Also, I own 2 SR22 planes, as well as a Lance, DA62, and King Air 200, and while the latter 3 show buffeting and signs of impending stall, because of the split wing, the cirrus doesn’t. Not the slightest until the wing snaps over. A non-Cirrus instructor wouldn’t recognize it until it snapped over, and also wouldn’t grab the chute handle out of immediate instinct when it happens, obviously. I have no doubt of your competency, or the dead CFI’s in a 172 or a Malibu, but statistically, the in training flights, 32:1 non-cirrus instructors will perish in the event of engine failure over the CSIP who grabs the handle. For a reason. It takes a lot to unlearn the control we all agree to assume when we lose and engine with respect to maintaining stability all the way to the ground. With the airspeed tape on the very left of the perspective screen, in a panicky cockpit, it would have been a tough task for the right seat CFI vs a CSIP who would have pulled immediately to give canopy time to deploy. Buying a cirrus doesn’t buy additional safety, but additional risk if you don’t use the certification method required by the FAA to avoid cartwheel/fire and spin accidents.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts. Subscriptions encourage similar content!

TIMESTAMPS
Introduction to CAPS 0:06
Accident PreFlight Briefing 0:35
FlightAware Flight Path 1:55
Departure 2:29
Circuit 1 3:55
Circuit 2 6:20
Critical Indecision 9:20
Post Accident Narration 11:02
CAPS Facts 11:30
Why did the pilots not pull the parachute 11:48
Final Words 13:00

Additional Resources:
AVIATION NEWS TALK: 303 Cirrus SR22T Crash at Shelbyville, IN and Why the CAPS Parachute Matters https://aviationnewstalk.com/podcast/...

FlightAware: https://www.flightaware.com/live/flig...
Aviation Safety Network: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/...

National Transportation Safety Board Preliminary Report https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-publ...

Cirrus Aircraft: https://cirrusaircraft.com

CAPS brochure: https://flyasg.co.uk/wp-content/uploa...

Music
Ethereal by Punch Deck
Urano by Alex Productions
A Kind of Hope by Scott Buckley

#planecrash #emergency #documentary