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BFO94LA065

1994-04-04 · WILLIMANTIC, Connecticut, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport IJD

Current FAA registration · N30DW

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28R-200
Year of manufacture
1971 · 23 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING I0360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19710920
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A31D59

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The instructor's inadequate supervision and the student's improper landing flare.

Factual narrative

On April 4, 1994, about 1030 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-200, N30DW, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Windham Airport, Willimantic, Connecticut. The certified flight instructor and his dual student were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The local instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The certified flight instructor reported that he and his student were practicing touch and go landings at several airports within the local flying area. He said a hard landing occurred at the Windham Airport, but he did not think the airplane sustained substantial damage. The certified flight instructor stated that upon termination of the flight, he noticed the airplane had sustained damaged and reported it to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). An inspection of the airplane by a FAA Safety Inspector revealed the airplane's wings, wheel wells, and "bottom false spar cap" sustained damaged. THE PURPOSE OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WAS TO CONDUCT TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS AT LOCAL AIRPORTS. THE STUDENT PILOT HAD 74 HOURS OF TOTAL FLIGHT TIME. THE INSTRUCTOR REPORTED THAT DURING ONE OF THE TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS, A HARD LANDING WAS MADE. THE CFI STATED THAT HE DID NOT THINK THAT THE TOUCHDOWN WAS HARD ENOUGH TO DAMAGE THE AIRPLANE. AT THE END OF THE FLIGHT, THE INSTRUCTOR NOTICED THE RIGHT WING WAS DAMAGED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1994_BFO94LA065.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing). All research papers