# NTSB CEN21LA108: Cirrus Design SR20, N720TX, Fort Worth, TX, November 6, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: November 5, 2020, 22:33 local (Nov 6, 2020, 04:33 UTC) - Place: Fort Worth, TX - Coordinates: 32.985303, -97.318095 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9853&lon=-97.3181&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: North Texas FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 102489 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN21LA108 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/102489/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102489 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA108 ## Probable cause A failure of the nose wheel landing strut for reasons that could not be determined based on available information. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Landing gear system: nose/tail landing gear](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Cirrus Design SR20, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md?model=2130000), [All aircraft, 185 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023220/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094) (defining event); cases with it: [Cirrus Design SR20, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md?model=2130000), [All aircraft, 1,787 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/094/sequence.md) ## Analysis Just after touchdown during landing, the airplane’s nose landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the engine firewall. Examination revealed that the gear strut separated near the top of the assembly. Video of the landing was not consistent with a hard landing. The airplane had experienced a hard landing about 2 months before the accident landing, after which it was inspected in accordance with the manufacturer’s hard landing checklist. The accident landing was the fourth landing since being returned to service. The nose landing gear strut assembly was not retained and provided for metallurgical examination. It could not be determined if the strut failed due to damage from the previous hard landing or another hard landing before the accident flight. ## Factual narrative On November 5, 2020, at 2233 central standard time, a Cirrus SR20 airplane, N720TX, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fort Worth, Texas. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor and the student pilot were conducting touch-and-go takeoffs and landings to runway 16R. After the airplane touched down, the nose of the airplane came down and the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest on the runway. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed substantial damage to the firewall and lower composite structure. The nose landing gear tire was flat, and the nose landing gear strut was separated at the top of the assembly. A video provided by the flight instructor, which recorded the landing, showed that the accident landing was not a hard landing. The airplane touched down and as the nose of the airplane came down and contacted the runway, a sound consistent with a flat tire could be heard, followed by the subsequent nose landing gear collapse. According to the FAA inspector, the airplane had experienced a hard landing about 2 months before the accident landing. The operator completed the Cirrus Hard/Overweight Landing maintenance checklist and subsequently returned the airplane to service. The accident landing was the fourth landing following the return to service. The nose landing gear strut assembly was not retained by the operator and submitted for metallurgical examination. Pictures of the fracture surface were inconclusive. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N720TX](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N720TX), registered now, S/N 1564, built 2005 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR20 - Registry model: [Cirrus Design SR20](https://openairdocs.org/model/cirrus-design-sr20) (registry code 2130000) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (registry code 17025, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1564 - Year built: 2005 - Engines: CONT MOTOR IO-360 SER 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Plane Smart! Aviation - Registered owner: Psa Finance LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: ADS, Addison, TX - Airport: AFW, Fort Worth Alliance, runway 16R, 11,000 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 56; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: right - Student pilot; injuries: none; student; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: left ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 110° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 57 °F - Altimeter: 30.14 inHg - Observed at: AFW ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20201106021199A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20201106021199A), Nov 6, 2020: Cirrus Design Corp SR20, Ft Worth, TX, Substantial damage. Aircraft landed at Alliance Ft Worth airport (afw) at 2230. Shortly after landing the front wheel began to wobble. The front wheel strut bar broke away from… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 26, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102489. 10.3 MB in all. - Case findings (item 1, PDF, 1 page, 108 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14590739&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=case%20findings%20cen21la108-Rel.pdf - Hard landing maintenance checklist (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 46 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14585072&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Hard%20Landing-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 3, PDF, 5 pages, 5 photos, 1.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14591089&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN21LA108%20Photos%205-Rel.pdf - Landing video (item 4, MOV, 8.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14590947&FileExtension=MOV&FileName=Video-Rel.MOV 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. --- 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.