Cirrus Design CORP SR22 accident near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, March 6, 2025
On March 6, 2025 at about 4:45 pm local time, a 2017 Cirrus Design CORP SR22, registered N744SM, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Grand Strand Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control while attempting to land in a gusty crosswind, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 6, 2025 · about 4:45 pm local time
- Place
- North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina · Grand Strand Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cirrus Design CORP SR22 NO SERIES, built 2017
- Registration
- N744SM · registry record · serial 4581
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he was attempting to land with a right quartering crosswind at a velocity of 13 knots, gusting to 24 knots. As the airplane neared touchdown, the pilot felt a sudden loss of lift and the airplane began to drop, possibly due to windshear. The pilot increased engine power for a go-around, but the airplane veered left off the runway, went down a depression, and across a taxiway before coming to rest. While traveling down the depression, the empennage impacted the ground and separated, substantially damaging the airframe. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Loss of control on ground during landing defining event
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Crosswind › Response/compensation
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Gusts › Response/compensation
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: instrument airplane
- Flight time: 1,030 hours in all; 715 in this make and model; 46 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 915 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 13, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,672 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 29, 2024; 92 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-550-N (piston); 2,160 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JQF Concord NC at 3:51 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 5,997 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 14 knots, gusting 29
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.65 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 am from CRE
Weather report (METAR): KCRE 061653Z 31014G29KT 280V340 10SM SCT050 12/M01 A2965
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 1 picture from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on May 9, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Weather Report | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Investigation Photograph | PDF, 2 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.