# Accident 20110928021339A: Cirrus Design Corp SR20, Gaithersburg, MD, September 28, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 28, 2011, 15:20 local time
- Place: Gaithersburg, MD
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.1678° N, 77.1594° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1678&lon=-77.1594&mi=10
- Aircraft: N912BG, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N912BG) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cirrus Design SR20 (registry code 2130000, https://openairdocs.org/model/cirrus-design-sr20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR20
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,240 total, 90 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA11CA514](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA11CA514) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110928021339A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRMAN WAS PRACTICING TRAFFIC PATTERN TAKE-OFF AND LANDINGS, STARTING AT APPROXIMATELY 1420 LOCAL TIME, AND WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRPLANE.  HE DID FOUR OR FIVE TAKE-OFF AND LANDINGS.  AIRMAN STATED THAT ON THE LAST APPROACH AND LANDING EVERYTHING LOOKED GOOD, FINAL APPROACH WAS AT 70-75 KNOTS AND THE AIRPLANE WAS CONFIGURED WITH FULL FLAPS.  DURING THE FLARE THE PILOT STATES THAT HE OBSERVED BIRDS OVER THE RUNWAY AND LOWERED THE AIRPLANE NOSE CAUSING THE AIRPLANE TO TOUCHDOWN EARLY.  THE TOUCHDOWN WAS NOT VERY HARD BUT THE AIRPLANE STARTED TO PORPOISE ABOUT THREE TIMES BEFORE THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE AIRPLANE SLID OFF THE RUNWAY ONTO THE GRASS SURFACE.  A CIRRUS REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT IF LANDED FLAT ON ALL THREE GEAR THE AIRCRAFT COULD PORPOISE.THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS USING RUNWAY 14 AND THAT THE WIND WAS APPROXIMATELY 180 DEGREES; 6-7 KNOTS, VISIBILITY GREATER THAN 10 MILES AND HE FILED AN SFRA FLIGHT PLAN.AFTER EXITING THE AIRPLANE THE PILOT "COULD SEE THE NOSE WHEEL BROKEN AND PROP DAMAGED".  HE REPORTED THAT BEFORE THE ACCIDENT "EVERYTHING APPEARED NORMAL". (AIRCRAFT CONDITION)I ASKED IF HE HAD RECEIVED TRAINING ON RECOVERY FROM A PORPOISE AND HE RESPONDED THAT DURING THE PORPOISE HE "THOUGHT HE MIGHT HAVE HIT THE PROPELLER SO HE DID NOT GO AROUND".  I THEN DESCRIBED ESTABLISHING A NOSE HIGH LANDING ATTITUDE AND LETTING THE AIRPLANE TOUCHDOWN WITHOUT HIM TRYING TO TIME THE PITCH INPUTS WITH THE AIRPLANE OSCILLATIONS AND HE SEEMED UNAWARE OF THE TECHNIQUE.PILOT STATED THAT HE HAS ATTENDED FAA FAAST SAFETY SEMINARS WITHIN TWO TO THREE MONTHS OF THE ACCIDENT DATE BUT COULD NOT PROVIDE THE EXACT DATES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ERA11CA514](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA11CA514), Sep 28, 2011: Cirrus Design SR20 (N912BG), Gaitherburg, MD, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a loss of airplane control.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.