GAA18LA062

A student pilot was conducting a solo flight when the right main landing gear struck a coyote during the landing flare. The pilot contacted flight school management to inform them of the event. A visual examination that the pilot conducted did not reveal any damage, and she was instructed to fly the airplane back to the home airport. Upon landing, a flight school mechanic examined the airplane and reported seeing hair on the landing gear; the airplane remained in service. The next morning, the airplane was dispatched for a local employment evaluation flight. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction completed a preflight inspection, and no anomalies were observed. The employment evaluation flight departed and consisted of instrument approaches and touch-and-go landings. After the final landing, the pilots heard an abnormal noise coming from the right main landing gear area. Postaccident examination revealed that the internal composite wing structure where the landing gear attaches was fractured. Based on the available information, the damage to the wing structure was likely a result of the wildlife strike, which damaged the landing gear mount, and the subsequent operation of the airplane, which likely aggravated the damage.

***This report was revised on August 28, 2020. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** On October 13, 2017, at 0857 mountain standard time, a Diamond Aircraft Industries DA-40 airplane, N965DS, sustained substantial damage after landing at Falcon Field Airport (FFZ), Mesa, Arizona. The flight instructor and the pilot were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by CAE Oxford Aviation Academy, Phoenix, Arizona, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 employment evaluation flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from FFZ at 0750. The previous evening, October 12, 2017, about 2140, a student pilot was conducting a solo flight when the right main landing gear struck a coyote during the landing flare. The pilot contacted flight school management to inform them of the event. A visual examination conducted by the pilot did not reveal any damage and she was instructed to fly the airplane back to FFZ. Upon landing, a flight school mechanic examined the airplane and told the student he saw hair in the gear. The airplane remained in service. The following morning, October 13, 2017, the airplane was dispatched for a local flight. The dispatcher informed the flight instructor of the coyote strike the previous evening. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction reported completing a preflight inspection and no anomalies were observed. The employment evaluation flight consisted of instrument approaches and touch-and-go landings. After the final landing at FFZ, the pilots noticed an abnormal noise emanating from the right main landing gear area. Flight school maintenance personnel conducted a more detailed examination, which revealed that the internal composite wing structure where the landing gear attaches was fractured. The flight school updated their event and discrepancy reporting, and airplane return to service procedures in an effort to prevent any possibility of dispatching an unairworthy airplane in the future.