Accident Overview
On May 6, 2013, at 1140 central daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corporation model SR20 airplane, registration N161KT, sustained substantial damage while landing at Staples Municipal Airport (KSAZ), Staples, Minnesota. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, which had departed KSAZ about 1110.
Landing Sequence
The pilot reported that after a short local area flight, he returned to the departure airport for a full stop landing. The landing approach to runway 32 (3,305 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) was uneventful until the landing flare, when the airplane pitch descended below a normal flare attitude. The pilot stated that the nose landing gear "firmly" struck the runway before the main landing gear, resulting in a bounced landing. The airplane bounced a second time before the pilot selected takeoff power and retracted the wing flaps to 50-percent for an aborted landing; however, the airplane did not achieve takeoff speed and subsequently departed the end of the runway.
Damage and Examination
During the runway excursion, the airplane impacted a runway edge identifier light. The fuselage and empennage sustained substantial damage. A postaccident examination conducted by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors after recovery from the accident site revealed damage to the lower fuselage and empennage consistent with a tail strike and impact with the damaged runway edge identifier light. Both propeller blade tips were curled, consistent with a propeller ground strike during the accident sequence. The examination did not reveal any preimpact anomalies or malfunctions that would have prevented normal airplane operation.
Weather Conditions
At 1133, the automated surface observing system at KSAZ reported wind calm, visibility 10 miles, sky clear, temperature 16 degrees Celsius, dew point 7 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.11 inches of mercury.