Pilot Efforts To Maintain Directional Control Were Not Successful

Location: Spearfish, SD Accident Number: CEN25LA069 
Date & Time: January 3, 2025, 23:38 Local Registration: N603AP
Aircraft: Cirrus Design Corp SF50 Injuries: 6 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

On January 3, 2025, about 2338 mountain standard time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SF-50 airplane, N603AP, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Spearfish, South Dakota. The pilot and five passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported the flight proceeded uneventfully until landing. The air traffic controller advised him that the Black Hills Airport-Clyde Ice Field (SPF) runway was covered with 1/8” of wet snow. However, the runway braking action was reported as 5/5/5 (touchdown/midpoint/rollout) meaning that braking action was good and all portions of the runway wet including the presence snow. The airport was in sight about 4 miles out, and the pilot executed a straight-in approach to runway 13. He verified that the landing gear was down. His intention was to touchdown at the landing reference speed (Vref) to minimize the need for braking. 

He disconnected the autopilot at 2 miles from the runway, and the airplane appeared to be lined up with the extended runway centerline.

The pilot recalled that during landing, about 8 to 10 feet above ground level (agl), he received an aerodynamic stall warning with the stick shaker. At first, the touchdown seemed normal, but then the airplane started drifting to the left. The pilot efforts to maintain directional control were not successful. The airplane “lurched hard” when it impacted the snowbank along the left side of the runway. When the airplane came to rest, he shut down the engine, and the airplane was evacuated.

One of the passengers reported that he was seated behind the right-side (co-pilot) seat and had a “good view” out of the windshield. He confirmed seeing the 3-green landing gear down lights while on approach. He noted that the airplane appeared to be aligned with but was slightly left of the runway centerline. As the airplane touched down, it quickly drifted to the left. 

The left wing then caught the snowbank, and the airplane departed the left side of the runway. The airplane ultimately came to rest with the nose perpendicular to and facing the runway. The passenger recalled that when he exited the airplane, the wind was almost calm. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site the following day. He reported that the airplane had been moved to the ramp area of the airport. The right wing had substantial sustained damage which included deformation and delamination of the wing structure, partial separation of the right aileron, and damage to the fuel tank. The left main landing gear was extended, the right main landing gear was retracted in the wheel well, and the nose landing gear was collapsed. When the right landing gear was extended after recovery, the tire was still on the wheel rim and appeared intact, but the tire was flat.

The FAA inspector observed runway wheel marks (compressed snow) that corresponded to the accident airplane. The airplane appeared to have touched down about 150 feet before the 1,000-foot / touchdown zone markers. At touchdown, the left main wheel was 6 to 8 feet from the left side of the runway. The airplane departed the left side of the runway about 140 feet after it touched down. The snowbanks on each side of the runway were 2 to 3-feet high. The airplane struck two runway edge lights during the excursion.

Further examination of the airplane and download of available onboard data is pending.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov