ERA17LA301

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.

On August 25, 2017, about 1000 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA28R-180, N3805T, exhibited substantial damage during a preflight inspection at the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport (EQY), Monroe, North Carolina. A flight instructor and student pilot were preparing for an instructional flight operated by Pressley Aviation LLC. The time and date of the accident are unknown.During a preflight inspection of the airplane, a flight instructor and 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. According to operator records, the airplane, which was based at EQY, had flown twice on the previous day. The first flight was in the morning and 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 airplane was then flown in the afternoon 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 prior to departure and during the takeoff. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the left wing spar.