Incident Overview
On February 17, 2008, at 1230 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-22 Tripacer, registration N3316A, experienced a hard landing and subsequent ground loop at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California. The aircraft was operated as an instructional flight under 14 CFR Part 91 by a private pilot under instruction and a certified flight instructor (CFI). Both occupants were not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Gillespie Field at 1130.
Sequence of Events
According to the pilot's statement in the Pilot Operator Aircraft Accident Report, the flight was a tail wheel familiarization session. En route to Gillespie Field, the aircraft experienced a loss of radio communications. The pilot set the transponder to 7600, overflew the field at pattern altitude, and received a green light signal from the tower. The pilot then entered the traffic pattern and began the final approach at 70 knots with one notch of flaps, which was the configuration used for previous landings.
On short final, the CFI called for full flaps. As the flaps were extended to the full position, airspeed decreased and the rate of descent increased. The pilot added power and lowered the nose in an attempt to maintain the glide slope. At 15 to 20 feet above ground level, the airplane began to settle and then bounced during touchdown. The CFI called to close the throttle, and the airplane bounced a second time. The airplane then swerved left, prompting the CFI to apply right rudder. Subsequently, the airplane swerved right, and both the pilot and CFI applied left rudder and left brake. The aircraft continued to ground loop to the right, during which the left wing dug into the terrain, causing substantial damage to the wing structure.