Accident Overview
On November 5, 2020, at 2233 central standard time, a Cirrus SR20 airplane, registration N720TX, was substantially damaged during an instructional flight near Fort Worth, Texas. The aircraft was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured.
Sequence of Events
The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting touch-and-go takeoffs and landings to runway 16R. After touchdown, as the nose of the airplane lowered, the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest on the runway.
Damage Examination
An FAA inspector examined the airplane and found substantial damage to the firewall and lower composite structure. The nose landing gear tire was flat, and the nose landing gear strut had separated at the top of the assembly.
Video Evidence
The flight instructor provided a video recording of the landing. The video showed that the landing was not hard. As the nose wheel contacted the runway, a sound consistent with a flat tire was heard, followed by the collapse of the nose landing gear.
Previous Hard Landing
According to the FAA inspector, the airplane had experienced a hard landing about two months before the accident. The operator completed the Cirrus Hard/Overweight Landing maintenance checklist and returned the airplane to service. The accident landing was the fourth landing after return to service.
Nose Landing Gear Examination
The nose landing gear strut assembly was not retained by the operator for metallurgical examination. Pictures of the fracture surface were inconclusive.