Cirrus SR20 incident near Sanford, Florida, June 5, 2008
On June 5, 2008 at about 12:40 pm local time, a Cirrus SR20, registered N475DA, suffered minor damage in an incident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Sanford, Florida (Orlando Sanford Int. Airport). 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
A failure of the nose landing gear strut weldment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 5, 2008 · about 12:40 pm local time
- Place
- Sanford, Florida · Orlando Sanford Int. Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cirrus SR20 · all SR20s on the register
- Registration
- N475DA · registry record · serial 1800
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While practicing takeoffs and landings with a student, the flight instructor noted a "shimmy" in the nose landing gear during the first three landings, but did not think it was out of the ordinary. During the fourth landing, the student pilot "did not flare enough, which resulted in a three-point landing" and a subsequent "porpoise" of the airplane. The airplane bounced two or three times before he took control of the airplane and taxied clear of the runway. During the next landing, performed by the instructor, the nose landing gear collapsed. Postincident inspections conducted by the operator revealed that the nose landing gear strut weldment had cracked. The incident prompted the flight school to inspect their entire fleet of Cirrus SR20 airplanes, of which nine others exhibited cracking in the same location as the incident airplane. The airframe manufacturer subsequently issued a service bulletin mandating inspections of the nose landing gear strut for cracking. The service bulletin outlined the procedures to detect cracking, and specified corrective action that included replacement of the nose landing gear strut with a redesigned part if cracking over 0.19 inches was observed.
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
- Landing gear collapse during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail gear strut/axle › Failure
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 420 hours in all; 167 in this make and model; 141 in the last 90 days; 46 in the last 30 days; 329 as pilot in command; 132 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 14, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 66 hours in all; 66 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 769 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 14, 2008
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental Motors IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Delta Connection Academy, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: SFB Sanford FL at 12:35 pm
- Destination: SFB Sanford FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09C, 3,578 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 1:37 pm from SFB, 1 miles away
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.
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.