Diamond Aircraft DA 20-C1 accident near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, October 22, 2003
On October 22, 2003 at about 2:33 am local time, a Diamond Aircraft DA 20-C1, registered N575MT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Murfreesboro Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to attain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall mush and collision with a taxiway sign. A factor was the pilot's delay in aborting the landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 22, 2003 · about 2:33 am local time
- Place
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee · Murfreesboro Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft DA 20-C1 · all DA 20-C1s on the register
- Registration
- N575MT · no longer on the register · serial C0221
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot set up for a straight-in approach to runway 36. During the landing, the airplane initially contacted the runway with its nose wheel, then bounced up and continued down the runway. The pilot used rudder control input to maintain centerline. He stated he realized he was running out of runway and intended to initiate a go-around, but the airplane settled back to the runway, the left main wheel touched down, and the airplane skidded left. The pilot's efforts to regain control of the airplane were unsuccessful, and it skidded left off the runway, struck an airport sign for taxiway A, and came to rest on the north end of the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed the right main landing gear was separated, and the propeller was damaged. Cracks were observed on the composite wing structure and on the composite fuselage near the gear attachment block. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction with the airplane. Examination of the runway revealed a gouge in the asphalt on the north end of runway 36, near the numbers for the approach end of runway 18.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 74 hours in all; 19 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 20 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 25, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 265 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 6, 2003; 65 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,660 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental IO-240 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HSV Huntsville AL at 1:00 am
- Destination: MBT
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 36, 3,898 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 16,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 am from KBNA, 21 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.