Central Illinois Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bloomington, Illinois 61704
Thursday, August 26, 2010 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The cracked nose landing gear fork assembly found during the preflight inspection.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 8/26/2010
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event --
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Bloomington
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61704
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 402837N
Event Location Longitude 0885457W
Event Location Airport Central Illinois Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BMI
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 871
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID BMI
Elevation of weather observation facility 871
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Not Reported
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28020
NTSB Notification Source FAA - Springfield, IL, FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2011 3:55PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N409AM
NTSB Number CEN10IA554
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IND INC
Aircraft Model DA 20-C1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number C0343
Certified Max Gross Weight 1770
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 23 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1801
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name IMAGE AIR OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA LC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2933 E EMPIRE ST
Aircraft Owner City BLOOMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61704-5452
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name IMAGE AIR OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA LC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 2933 E EMPIRE ST
Operator City BLOOMINGTON
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 61704-5452
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code BMI
Departure City Bloomington
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code BMI
Destination City Bloomington
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 9 2010 6:19PM
User who most recently changed record male
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --