Cirrus Design CORP SR20 accident near Charles Town, West Virginia, December 16, 2015
On December 16, 2015 at about 2:35 pm local time, a 2004 Cirrus Design CORP SR20, registered N614CD, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering near Charles Town, West Virginia. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's inadequate remedial action and the student pilot's failure to maintain yaw control while practicing a stall, which resulted in an unintentional spin.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 16, 2015 · about 2:35 pm local time
- Place
- Charles Town, West Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cirrus Design CORP SR20, built 2004
- Registration
- N614CD · no longer on the register · serial 1473
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot and flight instructor were practicing maneuvers, followed by takeoffs and landings. After successfully practicing slow flight, the student performed a power-off stall by slowly elevating the nose until the airplane stalled. The airplane banked right, and the student let go of the stick while applying full left rudder. The airplane then rolled over to the right and began to spin nose down. After two rotations, the flight instructor activated the airplane's parachute system. The student added that he had practiced turning stalls on at least two previous occasions in a different make and model airplane and that, in that airplane, it was easy to recover from those stalls. The flight instructor provided a similar statement about the accident sequence. During the landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and right elevator. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The roll trim, pitch trim, and aileron-rudder interconnect were all in their proper positions. Further, the airplane was last flown 4 days before the accident flight by the operator's chief flight instructor. He reported that the previous flight included both power-on and power-off stalls and that he did not notice anything unusual about the airplane or its handling characteristics during that flight. The student had not flown for about 2 months before the accident and had accrued only 1 flight hour during the 90-day period before the accident. He had accumulated a total flight experience of 81 hours, of which 19 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. Data downloaded from the primary flight display, autopilot computer, and a multifunction display revealed that there was right yaw before the stall. It is likely that the student did not adequately control yaw before the stall due to his lack of recent experience and lack of experience in the make and model airplane, which resulted in a right roll and spin. Additionally, the instructor did not correct the yaw before the stall and did not recover the airplane as it began to enter a spin.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Simulated/training event during maneuvering
- Loss of control in flight during maneuvering defining event
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during maneuvering
- Miscellaneous/other during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Delayed action › Instructor/check pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring other person › Instructor/check pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Yaw control › Not attained/maintained
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,747 hours in all; 131 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 1,634 as pilot in command; 177 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Flight time: 81 hours in all; 19 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 3 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,745 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 1, 2015; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor IO-360 (piston); 1,745 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JYO Leesburg VA at 2:15 pm
- Destination: OKV Winchester VA
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,700 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 pm from KJYO, 19 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.
