N32145

On April 11, 1995 at 1440 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-151, N32145, piloted by Orin May, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Clinton Field, Wilmington, Ohio. The flight instructor, student pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the certified flight instructor (CFI) stated that he had received a telephone call from a student pilot (SP) requesting flight instruction. The SP informed the CFI that she had about 20 hours of flight time, had been soloed by another CFI, and requested to be "checked out again." The SP also asked, and received permission, to bring a friend along.

The CFI met the SP, and two of her friends, at the Green County Airport (I-19), Dayton, Ohio. The CFI observed the SP perform a pre-flight, and with all four aboard the airplane, a cross-wind takeoff was successfully completed. After basic air work was performed, the CFI decided to conduct landings into the wind at another airport, prior to attempting cross-wind landing at I-19. The SP flew the first approach to the Clinton Field, runway 20. The left wing of the airplane dropped on short final, and the CFI took over the flight controls at 8 to 12 feet and applied power.

In another written statement provided by the 71 year old CFI, he stated,

"...I applied full throttle and a little back elevator to execute a go-around, but the airplane slammed into the ground, broke off the left main gear and ground looped into a drainage ditch."

According to a form provided by the SP, of her 20 hours of total flight time, she had not flown within the past 90 days and had no experience in the PA-28-151.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector computed the airplane's weight and balance. According to his calculations, at takeoff, the airplane was about 46 pounds over the maximum allowable gross weight. At the time of the accident the airplane was about 25 pounds under the maximum allowable gross weight, and the center of gravity was computed to be about 1.1 inches forward of the aft limit of 93.00 inches.

The winds reported at an airport, 20 northwest of Clinton Field, were from 180 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 26. The calculated density altitude for Clinton Field was 2,600 feet.