Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 40 incident near Colorado Springs, Colorado, December 8, 2010
On December 8, 2010 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 40, registered N326AF, suffered minor damage in an incident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Colorado Springs, Colorado (Usaf Academy Airfield). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Fatigue failure of the nose wheel fork, which resulted in separation of the nose wheel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 8, 2010 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Colorado Springs, Colorado · Usaf Academy Airfield · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Ind INC DA 40
- Registration
- N326AF · registry record · serial 40.986
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and student pilot were performing their fourth touch-and-go landing of the day when the student pilot bounced the airplane. The instructor determined that the bounce was not severe and allowed the student to remain on the controls for a second touchdown. As the airplane contacted the runway, the instructor observed the airplane’s nose wheel depart the airplane. The airplane skidded down the runway for about 120 feet on its main landing gear and nose wheel strut before coming to a stop. An examination of the nose landing gear determined that multiple fatigue cracks had originated in the forward machined pockets of the left and right sides of the nose wheel fork. The cracks propagated until the fork could no longer sustain the applied operational loads, at which point overload failure occurred. As a result of the investigation, the airplane manufacturer developed a reinforced nose wheel fork, and the operator conducted a one-time inspection of its fleet of airplanes to identify any other nose wheel forks with fatigue cracks. The operator also implemented a method to nondestructively inspect all their airplanes’ nose wheel forks for fatigue cracks on a periodic basis. Additionally, the operator evaluated and implemented ways to decrease low cycle, high intensity stress brought on by nose wheel shimmy during takeoffs and landings and published guidance outlining specific steps to take in the event of hard landings, bounces, nose wheel strikes, and excessive nose wheel shimmy or vibration.
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
- Part(s) separation from AC during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Failure
Crew member
- Flight time: 3,850 hours in all; 46 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 1,700 as pilot in command; 618 on instruments
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 560 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 19, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 2,646 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-MIA (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Doss Aviation INC
The flight
- Departed from: AFF Colorado Springs CO at 7:50 pm
- Destination: AFF Colorado Springs CO
- Runway 16L, 3,500 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 8:00 pm from AFF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N326AF the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.