Sun, Mar 15, 2009
Was Returning To Airport After Reporting Mechanical
Problem
The pilot of a Cirrus SR22 is reported to be uninjured after
popping the 'chute over Gaithersburg, MD Sunday afternoon.
Local media reports state the aircraft departed Montgomery
County Airpark (GAI) at approximately 1:45 pm EDT, and encountered
unspecified mechanical problems soon after. The pilot was
attempting to return to GAI when the plane began losing altitude,
Montgomery County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
spokesman Pete Piringer told the Washington Post.
The pilot then deployed the aircraft's Cirrus Airframe Parachute
System. The aircraft went down near the entrance to the Flower Hill
subdivision alongside Stouffer School Rd., which runs parallel to
the runway about 1/10 of a mile west of the airport.
Photos show the ballistic parachute canopy deployed and fully
extended. The aircraft impacted trees near the entrance to a
residential neighborhood; the plane's empennage and left wing
separated on impact with the pavement, but the plane remained
largely intact from the passenger cell and firewall forward.
There was no post-impact fire, though crews were working to
contain a large amount of spilled avgas. Photos from the scene
showed the parachute canopy resting atop tree limbs.
The accident aircraft is N213CP, a 2008 GTSX Turbo model. The
plane was among the first to be equipped with the Garmin
G1000-based Cirrus Perspective avionics suite, and was displayed by
the planemaker at AirVenture 2008 (below). It is registered to an
owner in Kalamazoo, MI.
Online flight tracking records from FlightAware.com show the
aircraft was on an IFR flight plan to Kalamazoo/Battle Creek
International Airport (AZO). The last radar information available
showed the plane descending out of 1,800 feet, at 76 knots
groundspeed.
Reported conditions at the airport shortly after the accident
indicated an overcast ceiling at 1,500' AGL, with calm winds.
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