On May 6, 2013, at 1140 central daylight time, a Cirrus Design Corporation model SR20 airplane, N161KT, was substantially damaged while landing at Staples Municipal Airport (KSAZ), Staples, Minnesota. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that departed KSAZ about 1110.

The pilot reported that after a short local area flight he returned to the departure airport for a full stop landing. He stated that 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 reported the nose landing gear “firmly” struck the runway before the main landing gear, which resulted in a bounced landing. The pilot stated that the airplane bounced a second time before he 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. The airplane impacted a runway edge identifier light during the runway excursion. The fuselage and empennage sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence.

A postaccident examination of the airplane was conducted by inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after it had been recovered from the accident site. The observed damage to the lower fuselage and empennage was consistent with damage sustained during 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 postaccident examination did not reveal any preimpact anomalies or malfunctions that would have prevented normal airplane operation.

At 1133, the KSAZ automated surface observing system reported the following weather conditions: wind calm, visibility 10 miles, sky clear, temperature 16 degrees Celsius, dew point 7 degrees Celsius, altimeter setting 30.11 inches of mercury.