FTW98LA381

During the dual instructional flight, the airplane collided with a fence post about 25 feet short of the runway while on final approach for landing. The flight instructor described the 43-hour student pilot's approach as 'stabilized although it was a little low.' According to the instructor, as the airplane approached the runway, there was 'a sudden drop of about 15 to 20 feet' at which time he took control and landed the airplane on the runway. According to the student pilot, 'moments before striking the post my instructor said something like 'watch the fence' and took the controls.'

On August 29, 1998, approximately 1150 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235 airplane, N235CF, was substantially damaged when it struck a fence post during final approach for landing at Mineola Wisener Field Airport near Mineola, Texas. The flight instructor and the student pilot, who was the owner of the airplane, were not injured. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight that departed Tyler, Texas, at 1130.

In a written statement dated August 31, 1998, and during an interview conducted by an FAA inspector, the 43-hour student pilot reported that he and the flight instructor had flown the airplane from Mineola to Tyler Pounds Field Airport in Tyler, Texas, for takeoff and landing practice. After completing "7 or 8 landings" at Tyler, they returned to Mineola. During the final approach to runway 35, the airplane "struck a fence post just prior to touching down." According to the student pilot, "moments before striking the post my instructor said something like "watch the fence" and took the controls."

In a written statement dated September 14, 1998, the flight instructor stated that "the approach was stabilized although it was a little low." As the airplane approached the runway, there was "a sudden drop of about 15 to 20 feet at which time I took control of the aircraft and landed on the runway."

The FAA inspector who examined the airplane reported that there was damage to the underside of the fuselage, the left horizontal stabilizer, the aft fuselage bulkhead, and the right main landing gear. According to the inspector, the fence post the airplane struck was located approximately 20 to 30 feet south of the approach end of runway 35.