As Soon As The Nose Lowered, They Heard A Loud Noise

On August 19, 2020, about 2150 mountain standard time, a Diamond DA-40 airplane, N386MA, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident in Benson, Arizona. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and pilot undergoing instruction (PUI) were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight. The CFI stated that they departed from Tucson, Arizona with the purpose of landing in Benson for the PUI to fulfill a night cross-country flight time requirement toward his commercial license. The PUI completed a normal approach to runway 10 and started the landing flare at about 65 kts.