Incident Overview
During a training flight, a student pilot was practicing a simulated soft field obstacle clearance takeoff. At about 60 feet above the ground, the flight instructor introduced a simulated forced landing to the student. The subsequent events led to a hard landing, a bounce, a wing strike, an intentional departure from the runway, and a final collision with a ditch.
Sequence of Events
The simulated forced landing was initiated by the instructor. The aircraft descended in a glide toward the runway. When the aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 20 feet above the runway, the instructor perceived a high sink rate and took over control from the student. The aircraft then contacted the runway with a hard landing, bounced back into the air, and touched down again firmly. During the second touchdown, the right wing made contact with the runway surface. This contact caused the aircraft to yaw to the right by about 45 degrees.
Runway Excursion and Outcome
Following the wing strike, the instructor assessed the situation. He observed that the aircraft was continuing to move toward a row of parked aircraft. To avoid colliding with these aircraft, he steered the aircraft off the paved runway surface. The aircraft continued for approximately 100 feet on the unpaved area before striking a ditch. The aircraft came to a stop upon hitting the ditch.