AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014 - 68

THE FLIGHT

THE FRONT ROYAL,

Virginia, airport is
located 75 nm west
of Baltimore/Washington International
Thurgood Marshall
Airport in Maryland.
The path the pilot
took is in red; the
smarter alternative
is shown in white.

On March 14, 2008, a Cirrus SR22
pilot called flight service for a standard weather briefing and filed
an IFR flight plan. Subsequently,
he flew 75 nautical miles west
from Baltimore/ Washington
International Thurgood Marshall
Airport (BWI) to Front RoyalWarren County (Virginia) Airport
(FRR) to pick up his son, and
planned to return to BWI. Night
marginal visual meteorological
conditions prevailed. According
the Front Royal airport manager,
the Cirrus landed uneventfully at
9:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
At 11:19 p.m. the pilot filed an
IFR flight plan for the return to
BWI and at 11:24 p.m. he telephoned
Potomac Clearance Delivery for an
IFR clearance. According to the
NTSB, "The clearance included initial instructions to fly direct COGAN
intersection, climb and maintain
4,000 feet mean sea level (msl),
expect 5,000 feet msl 10 minutes
after departure. The pilot's release
time was 2350, with a clearance void
time of 2355." (The COGAN intersection is to the northeast of Front
Royal.) There were no further ATC
communications with the aircraft.
The flight departed Runway
28 early, at 11:48 p.m. An airport

surveillance camera captured the
takeoff-and one minute and 20
seconds later, recorded a fireball
on the mountain ridge about three
miles west of Front Royal. Groundbased radar logged two hits on the
aircraft's transponder, at 11:48:35
p.m. at 1,700 feet msl and four seconds later at 1,800 msl.
The Cirrus hit the ridge at
about 1,200 feet msl. The aircraft
parachute was not deployed and
the pilot and his son were killed.
THE PILOT

The 54-year-old private pilot was
instrument rated for airplane single-engine land. His most recent
FAA third class medical certificate
was issued on October 15, 2007. At
that time, he reported total flight
experience of 180 hours. The pilot
obtained his instrument rating on
September 20, 2006. While his
logbook was not recovered, an aircraft partnership usage log showed
that the pilot had about 113 hours
in the accident aircraft, with about
13 hours recorded since the medical and about five hours in the 30
days prior to the accident.
Actual and simulated instrument
time could not be determined, nor
did the log reveal any previous
flights to Front Royal.

THE AIRCRAFT

The pilot purchased the Cirrus
SR22 new in 2006. It had a current
annual inspection with 268 hours
total flight time. No preimpact malfunctions were found.
THE WEATHER

Just after the accident, Winchester
Regional Airport (OKV), about 15
miles north of the accident site,
reported wind from 340 degrees
at 4 knots, visibility 3 miles in rain,
broken ceiling at 2,400 feet, overcast
ceiling at 3,000 feet, temperature
10 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 8
degrees C, and an altimeter of 29.59
inches of mercury.
NTSB RESEARCH

The Cirrus was equipped with
a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), which was
destroyed, as was the multifunction display (MFD). However,
the memory chips within the primary flight display (PFD) revealed
a picture of considerable uncertainty in the cockpit.
According to the NTSB, "For
the approximate first half of the
one-minute, 20-second flight, the
airplane flew runway heading
and initially climbed about 900
to 1,000 feet per minute. About

COGAN

68 | AOPA PILOT March 2014
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014
