PIPER PA28R near Monroe, NC — 2017-08-25

Final reportERA17LA301

Date: 2017-08-25
Location: Monroe, NC, USA
Airport: EQY
Aircraft: PIPER PA28R
Registration: N3805T
Category: Airplane
Highest injury: None
Fatalities: 0
Phase of flight: Preflight

Probable cause

A hard landing at an unknown time.

NTSB narrative

During a preflight inspection of the airplane, the flight instructor and the student pilot observed a small hole in the upper surface of the left wing and skin wrinkling on the upper and lower surfaces of the left wing. The airplane had been flown twice on the previous day. The first flight, which was in the morning, was conducted by the same flight instructor and student pilot who noticed the damage. They reported that no damage was present when they performed a postflight inspection of the airplane. The second flight, which was in the afternoon, was conducted by another pilot as a personal flight. That pilot did not notice the damage during his preflight inspection. However, the damage was visible in photographs taken by a passenger on that flight, both on the ground before departure and during takeoff. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the left wing spar. The damage was consistent with a hard landing; however, the investigation could not determine when the damage occurred.