Premium research interface

The modern interface for aviation safety intelligence.

Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.

63k+
Reports indexed
1940-2026
Coverage
Recent
Last data refresh
Featured Report

Loading…

Loading featured report…

Loading…
Open Report

Safety trends by operating rule

Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.

Loading trend charts…

Browse the aviation graph

Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.

Last Data Update

By Decade

By Month

Aircraft Manufacturer

More manufacturers

Airports

More airports

Operators

More operators

About

Aviation safety reports, made easier to study

NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.

The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.

The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.

FAQs

NTSB Report

March 11, 2005 · Cirrus Design SR20 · N8160C

Jacksonville, FL

Overview

Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Incident
Date
March 11, 2005
Injury Outcomes
No injuries (2 uninjured)
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Aircraft
Cirrus Design SR20
Tail Number
N8160C
Operator
Kyle J Brady
Injuries
None
Aircraft Damage
Minor
NTSB Number
MIA05IA087

The pilot stated that while approaching to land on runway 5 at Craig Municipal Airport, he approached at a faster than normal airspeed. During the landing flare, the airplane porpoised a couple of times. On the second porpoise, the airplane touched down on the nose and the nose landing gear collapsed. The propeller struck the runway and the airplane skidded to a stop about 10 feet past sand bags, which marked the beginning of a construction zone on the runway. He stated the touch down was not any harder than the occasional hard landings made during flight training. Postincident examination of the nose landing gear showed it had separated at the point the gear is welded to the strut. The airplane's nose landing gear was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington DC for further inspection. Metallurgical examination of the nose gear revealed the weld between the strut tube and the spindle assembly was inadequate.

NTSB Probable Cause

Inadequate welding procedure by the manufacturer resulting in a poor weld of the nose landing gear and collapse of the nose landing gear during a porpoised landing.

Full Narrative

On March 10, 2005, about 1943 eastern standard time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR20, N8160C, suffered separation of the nose landing gear during landing at Craig Municipal Airport, Jacksonville, Florida, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The airplane received minor damage and the private-rated pilot and one passenger were not injured. The flight last departed Fort Pierce, Florida, the same day, about 1845. The pilot stated that while approaching to land on runway 5 at Craig Municipal Airport, he approached at a faster than normal airspeed. During the landing flare, the airplane porpoised a couple of times. On the second porpoise, the airplane touched down on the nose and the nose landing gear collapsed. The propeller struck the runway and the airplane skidded to a stop about 10 feet past sand bags, which marked the beginning of a construction zone on the runway. He stated the touch down was not any harder than the occasional hard landings made during flight training. Postincident examination of the nose landing gear showed it had separated at the point the gear is welded to the strut. The airplane's nose landing gear was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington DC for further inspection. The inspection reveled that the strut assembly was fractured through the weld between the strut tube and the spindle assembly. Severe and course abrasive grinding was evident on the lower edge of the nose wheel fork. The weld is a fish mouth notch cut that travels the periphery diameter of the nose gear strut. Magnified examination found that the fracture was almost entirely contained within the fusion zone of the weld. The fracture was consistent with a rearward bending overstress, and no indications of preexisting cracking such as fatigue or significant corrosion were uncovered. Several large and many small pores were exposed in the fusion zone by the fracture. The large pores were consistent with gas voids measuring up to 0.078 inch in diameter, while the small pores were typical of shrinkage porosity and measured between 0.005 and 0.013 inch in diameter. "Discontinuity Acceptance Criteria" of the Cirrus "Ferrous Alloys Welding Process Specification" specifies the maximum acceptable size and the minimum acceptable spacing of subsurface porosity. The size and spacing of the existing porosity was not acceptable for class A welds using these criteria. Examinations of the fracture surfaces also showed areas of incomplete penetration of the weld to the root of the joint. Approximately 1/3 of the total weld length did not display penetration to the inner diameter of the tube section of the weld joint. The weld bead penetrated as little as an estimated 33% of the joint.

Flight

Event TypeIncident
Event Time19:43 EST
Nearest AirportCraig Municipal (0nm)
Runway5
Runway Length4004 ft
Runway Width100 ft
Flight Plan FiledIFR
Flight Plan ActivatedYes
Aircraft FireNo
Aircraft ExplosionNo

Aircraft

AircraftCirrus Design SR20
Tail NumberN8160C
Aircraft CategoryAir
DamageMinor
OperatorKyle J Brady
Operating RulePart 91
Engines1
Engine TypeReciprocating
Engine DetailsContinental · IO-360-ES66 · Reciprocating · 200
Seats4

People & Injuries

Injury SummaryNo injuries (2 uninjured)
Fatal0
Serious0
Minor0
Uninjured2
Total2
Crew 1Age 33 · Third Class · None

Conditions

ConditionsVMC
LightDusk
Wind150° @ 6 kt
Visibility10 sm
CeilingNone
Temperature / Dew Point54 / 39 C
Altimeter29.89 inHg
Observation Time23:53
Weather SourceWFAC

Appendix: Source Data