Primary finding
Probable cause
A failure of the nose wheel landing strut for reasons that could not be determined based on available information.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
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.
Source record
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.