In the wake of an amazing week in which somewhat controversial
safety systems such as the BRS manufactured Cirrus Airplane
Parachute System (CAPS) was credited with saving the lives of 5
people (and one alleged feline) in two aircraft in serious trouble,
tragedy has struck the Cirrus community. At approximately 1400,
Monday afternoon, a Cirrus SR20 (file photo, below) departed the
Greenwood County airport in South Carolina, with four adults on
board and went down about a mile from the 5000 foot runway, in
trees and unimproved terrain.
Greenwood, about 75 miles west of Columbia, SC, was the stopping
point for an SR20 owned by Attic Aircraft Leasing in Marietta, Ga.
The airport lies at 631 feet, MSL. Bob Leslie, of Buzz Aviation
told ANN that the aircraft had asked for the courtesy car which was
unavailable due to prior commitment earlier in the day. The four
occupants of the aircraft got off the aircraft, traveled off site
on a reported construction errand of less than one hour, and
returned. They took on no fuel and departed with the aircraft on a
warm day (27 degrees, C, according to published reports), with
light winds. Leslie reported hearing the aircraft depart with no
evidence of difficulty, but did not observe the effort. Shortly
thereafter, he reported hearing and feeling that "whump" of the
aircraft's impact with trees in terrain less than a mile from the
runway and near to a housing area.
Published media reports note that local Sheriff's Lt. Jimmy
Boggs said that, "The plane just totally disintegrated when it
crashed to the ground... I went to the crash site, I didn't even
see the first piece of scrap. It was just a big burnt area where it
had landed."
Leslie went to the scene immediately and reported that there
were no survivors and that an aggressive post-crash fire was
consuming the aircraft. Asked about a possible parachute
deployment, he noted that the chute appeared "out" but lying close
by to the fuselage, indicating possible impact deployment or that
the BRS' rocket cooked off in the fire and partially deployed the
canopy. There is no evidence that the BRS unit was deployed in
flight.
The aircraft was piloted by Troy Sufferling, 37, of Kennesaw,
Ga. He and three passengers were declared dead at the scene. The
other three on board were believed to be Mexican nationals involved
in the construction of a local grocery store. Questions about
loading were some of the first raised by Cirrus pilots who have
talked to ANN throughout the day. Depending on the fuel on board,
four "normal" adults and a light/moderate fuel load are well within
the capabilities of the aircraft, both in terms of allowable weight
and potential CG. Leslie reported that the pilot and passengers on
board the aircraft appeared of "normal" size and weight.
ANN will have more information as it becomes available...