Cirrus Design Corp. SR20 accident near Las Vegas, New Mexico, November 3, 2002
On November 3, 2002 at about 7:25 pm local time, a Cirrus Design Corp. SR20, registered N566T, was destroyed in an accident near Las Vegas, New Mexico. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions and failure to maintain clearance with the terrain. A contributing factor was the pilot's failure to obtain an updated preflight weather briefing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 3, 2002 · about 7:25 pm local time
- Place
- Las Vegas, New Mexico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cirrus Design Corp. SR20
- Registration
- N566T · registry record · serial 1109
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a cross-country flight, the non-instrument rated private pilot encountered heavy fog and poor visibility, and the airplane was destroyed after impacting the terrain in a wildlife refuge. Wildlife refuge personnel stated the weather was clear on the morning of the accident. However, later that morning, the weather deteriorated, and the wildlife refuge personnel stated, "the fog was very heavy and visibility was very poor." While driving throught the wildlife refuge, an employee discovered a portion of the airplane wreckage on the side of the road. An AIRMET, issued and valid for the area, reported the following: "occasional ceiling below 1,000 feet, visibility below 3 miles in mist, fog...Mountains occasionally obscured clouds, mist, fog..." On the day of the accident, the pilot did not file a flight plan or receive a formal weather briefing from a FAA flight service station. The wreckage distribution path measured approximately 1,200 feet in length on a measured magnetic heading of 280 degrees. The initial impact ground scar was consistent with the right wing and all three landing gear, and white paint transfer was found on the dirt in the ground scar. During examination of the airplane, no anomalies were found with the engine or airframe that would have precluded normal flight operations. The airplane's parachute system had not been activated by the pilot.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,884 hours in all
- Last flight review: January 8, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 276.8 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 5, 2002; 109.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-360-ES-6 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GLD Goodland KS at 4:15 pm
- Destination: AEG Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from LVS, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.