Cirrus Design CORP SR22 accident near Duluth, Minnesota, February 24, 2023
On February 24, 2023 at about 10:07 pm local time, a 2016 Cirrus Design CORP SR22, registered N929DR, was destroyed in an accident during approach near Duluth, Minnesota. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A rapid descent and subsequent collision with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 24, 2023 · about 10:07 pm local time
- Place
- Duluth, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cirrus Design CORP SR22, built 2016
- Registration
- N929DR · registry record · serial 4441
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a short cross-country repositioning flight in day visual meteorological conditions, the airplane was about 4 miles from the destination airport, on an instrument approach at 1,300 ft mean sea level (msl), when the airplane pitched nose-down about 30° and remained in that attitude until ground impact. Review of onboard recorder data revealed that during the 1-minute period prior to manual autopilot disconnect and the final descent, the autopilot was in approach mode, using glidepath (GP) for vertical guidance and GPS for lateral guidance. With GP active, the vertical deviation slowly started to decrease until the final recorded vertical deviation was -952 ft. This would have resulted in the autopilot trimming nose-up to counteract the negative vertical deviation. After autopilot disconnected and during the final descent, the airplane’s electronic stability protection (ESP) pitch mode activated and stayed active for the descent. The ESP pitch protection mode would be activated when the airplane reached a pitch engagement limit of -15.5° nose-down and the system would then command the pitch servos to apply a supplemental stick force back toward the nominal pitch attitude range. The supplemental stick force would increase with increasing pitch deviation until the maximum limit of -20.5° nose-down pitch was reached. About 40 lbs of forward force would be required on the control stick to override both the ESP and the as-found full nose-up trim condition to maintain a 30° descent angle to impact. The final data point indicated that the airplane was at a pressure altitude of 370 ft, an indicated airspeed of 175 knots, and descending at a vertical speed of -6,880 ft per minute. The engine speed was 2,523 rpm with 10.9 inches of manifold pressure. Examination of the wreckage and recorded data did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. The pilot’s autopsy was limited by the severity of his injuries, and insufficient medical evidence was available to determine whether a medical condition contributed to the accident.
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
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
- Unknown or undetermined during approach defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 3,895 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,300 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 7, 2022
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-550-N (piston); 1,300 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DLH Duluth MS at 9:03 pm
- Destination: SUW Superior WI
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 12°F (-11°C), dew point -6°F (-21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.57 inHg
- Observation at 4:15 pm from SUW, 3 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KSUW 242215Z AUTO 17003KT 10SM CLR M11/M21 A3057 RMK AO2 T11071209
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA23FA130.