Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 20-C1 incident near Bloomington, Illinois, August 26, 2010
On August 26, 2010, a Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 20-C1, registered N409AM, suffered minor damage in an incident during prior to flight near Bloomington, Illinois (Central Illinois Regional airport). It was an instructional 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 cracked nose landing gear fork assembly found during the preflight inspection.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 26, 2010
- Place
- Bloomington, Illinois · Central Illinois Regional · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 20-C1
- Registration
- N409AM · registry record · serial C0343
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A student pilot found a cracked nose landing gear (NLG) fork, which was the third cracked fork the operator reported in the previous 17 months. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Service Difficulty Report (SDR) query revealed there were 12 SDR reports on the NLG forks, which included the three from the incident operator. Another operator had a fleet of 44 airplanes. This fleet’s airplanes accumulated 13 cracked NLG forks in 17 months. According to a fleet representative, their normal procedure for reporting failed parts was to submit the information directly to the manufacturer, instead of submitting a SDR. The airplane’s manufacturer recommended the installation of screws in the bolt holes used to secure the fairing to the NLG fork, which reportedly reduced a stress concentration point. The airplane manufacturer published a Service Information Letter (SIL), which depicted a replacement NLG fork assembly, and described the installation process. The SIL also referred owners to the maintenance manual for new inspection requirements that require the NLG to be inspected every 100 hours as opposed to the previous 6,000-hour inspection cycle. The National Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations to the FAA to encourage "all persons or organizations that operate under 14 CFR Parts 43 and 91 to submit Malfunction or Defect Reports ... and to ... encourage foreign regulatory agencies to provide service difficulty data from resident operators and manufacturers to the FAA for incorporation into the FAA service difficulty data base."
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
What happened, in order
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during prior to flight defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Design
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Safety programs › Adequacy of safety program › FAA/Regulator
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,801 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 23, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 1,770 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor IO-240-B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Image Air Of Southwest Florida Lc
The flight
- Departed from: BMI Bloomington IL
- Destination: BMI Bloomington IL
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.