DURING A NIGHT INST TRAINING FLT IN ACTUAL IMC CONDITIONS TO ILS MINIMUMS; THE TRAINEE PLT STRUCK TREES DURING A MISSED APCH CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE L WHEEL FAIRING AND L WING. AN EMER WAS DECLARED BY THE PLTS SINCE AMOUNT OF ACFT DAMAGE WAS NOT KNOWN. A SUCCESSFUL LNDG WAS MADE BACK AT HOME BASE IN VFR CONDITIONS.

Narrative

ON JUN/XA/98; I HAD SCHEDULED AN INST TRAINING FLT TO FULFILL MY LONG XCOUNTRY REQUIREMENT FOR AN INST RATING. I WAS ACCOMPANIED BY CFII; WHO IS MY INST FLT INSTRUCTOR. I WAS IN THE L SEAT AND WAS THE PLT FLYING THE AIRPLANE. CFII WAS SEATED IN THE R SEAT. I WORE FOGGLES FOR THIS FLT; AS THE WX WAS VMC. I FLEW THE AIRPLANE FOR EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE VISUAL APCH AND LNDG AT FCM. THE FLT CONTINUED AS I DEPARTED GRB AT XA30 UNEVENTFULLY. ENRTE PORTION GRB-DLH WAS UNEVENTFUL. I WAS GIVEN RADAR VECTORS FOR THE ILS 9 APCH INTO DLH. CURRENT CONDITIONS AT DLH WERE NIGHT 002 OVCST 1 MI VISIBILITY RVR 4800 FT. ALTHOUGH WE HAD ENCOUNTERED SOME INTERMITTENT IMC DURING THE FLT; DURING THE RADAR VECTORS; WE WERE ABOVE THE CLOUDS. AS WE WERE FLYING OUTBOUND ON THE VECTORS; WE HEARD ANOTHER PLANE ATTEMPT AND MAKE THE ILS 9 APCH; WHICH RPTED CLOUD TOPS AT 2300 FT MSL. OUTSIDE THE LOM; AND AT 3300 FT MSL; I BECAME ESTABLISHED ON THE APCH; STILL IN VMC. AT THE LOM; I WAS PRETTY WELL STABILIZED ON THE APCH WITH LESS THAN A 1-DOT DEFLECTION ON THE LOC AND ABOVE THE GS. I HAD DONE FULL LNDG/APCH CHKLIST AS WELL AS BCGUMPS AND DOMARTHA AND WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE MISSED APCH AND ALTS (3300 FT MSL -- GS 1628 FT MSL (200 FT AGL)). I STRUGGLED WITH THIS APCH; OVERCORRECTING FOR THE LOC AND I ALSO GOT A LITTLE LOW ON THE GS. AT APPROX 2 MI OUT; I HAD A FULL SCALE DEFLECTION ON THE LOC -- I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH DIRECTION -- AND WENT MISSED. I BEGAN CLBING; RPTED MISSING TO DLH TWR; AND WAS ASKED MY INTENTIONS. CFII SAID DO ANOTHER; SO I REQUESTED ANOTHER TRY. I WAS GIVEN VECTORS BACK AROUND FOR A SECOND TRY. AT THE LOM; I WAS RIGHT ON COURSE (BOTH LOC AND GS). THIS TIME I MADE SMALLER CORRECTIONS AND WAS NEVER OFF BY MORE THAN 1/2 - 1 DOT ON LOC; AND GS WAS PRETTY MUCH ON COURSE FOR THE WHOLE APCH. AS I GOT CLOSER; I GOT ABOUT A 1 - 1/2 DOT R DEFLECTION. I TRIED TO MANEUVER BACK; BUT AT THE MM I WAS STILL ABOUT A 1 - 1 1/2 DOT R DEFLECTION AND WENT MISSED. I THOUGHT I WAS CLBING STRAIGHT OUT OK. CFII POINTED OUT THE SEQUENCE APCH LIGHTS ON OUR R. I LOOKED OVER AND SAW THE LIGHTS; BUT DID NOT CONSCIOUSLY ATTEMPT TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN CONTINUE THE MISSED APCH. A FEW SECONDS LATER (I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG); I HEARD A LOUD THUNK AND SAW SOMETHING TO MY L. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED BACK; STILL AT FULL PWR AND 10 DEGS FLAPS FROM THE MISSED APCH AND CLBED OUT. I WAS IN A L BANK. I LEVELED THE WINGS AND CLBED TO ABOUT 2000 FT MSL. TWR RPTED WE WERE NOT FOLLOWING PUBLISHED MISSED APCH. I ADVISED TWR TO STAND BY; TWR TOLD US TO CLB. AT THIS POINT I DECLARED AN EMER; ADVISED TWR WE THOUGHT WE HAD HIT A TREE; SQUAWKED 7700. WE CONTINUED TO CLB AND BEGAN TO ASSESS DAMAGE. THE AIRPLANE SEEMED OK. NOW BACK IN VMC; I MADE SOME SLIGHT BANK L AND R TURNS; USED THE RUDDER AND ELEVATORS EFFECTIVELY; AND BELIEVED THAT ALL CTLS WERE INTACT. REQUESTED FROM TWR VECTORS TO THE NEAREST VFR ARPT. RECEIVED VECTORS TO HIB ABOUT 45 MI OUT. TWR DIRECTED US TO CLB TO 4500 FT MSL. GOT MYSELF CALMED DOWN AND CONTINUED TO ASSESS DAMAGE. EVERYTHING SEEMED OK. VISUALLY (WITH FLASHLIGHTS) TRIED TO INSPECT THE DAMAGE WITH CFII AND I ALTERNATING WHO WAS FLYING THE AIRPLANE. THE DAMAGE SEEMED TO BE ISOLATED TO THE L WHEEL FAIRING; WHICH HAD A PIECE MISSING; BUT WAS MOSTLY INTACT. I COULDN'T SEE THE L WHEEL; BUT I BELIEVED THAT MORE OF THE FAIRING WOULD HAVE TO BE GONE IN ORDER FOR THE WHEEL TO BE GONE. WITH ME FLYING THE AIRPLANE; CFII CLBED BACK AND LOOKED OUT THE L WINDOW AT THE WHEEL. HE CONCURRED THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE MORE DAMAGED IF THE WHEEL WASN'T THERE. TURNED STROBES BACK ON AND NOTICED THAT BOTH THE L STROBE AND L NAV LIGHTS WERE INOP. TURNED STROBES AND NAV LIGHTS OFF AND ADVISED TWR WE WERE RUNNING WITH JUST A BEACON. AIRPLANE WAS STILL FLYING NORMALLY; SO I REQUESTED CURRENT CONDITIONS AND FORECAST FOR MSP/FCM. THE WX WAS 045 SCATTERED. THE FORECAST CALLED FOR HVY/SEVERE TSTMS; BUT THEY WERE STILL 40 MI OR SO SW MOVING NE AT 20-25 MI. CFII AND I DECIDED TO GO BACK TO FCM. REQUESTED DIRECT FCM AND WERE GIVEN CLRNC DIRECT FCM; CLB TO 6000 FT MSL AND GIVEN A NEW SQUAWK CODE. FLT BACK TO FCM WAS VMC AND UNEVENTFUL. STAYED IN CONTACT WITH GRB FSS TO MAKE SURE WE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO GET BACK PRIOR TO THE TSTMS HITTING THE MSP AREA. DURING THE FLT BACK; CFII AND I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT JUST WHAT HAD HAPPENED. CFII REVIEWED EMER PROCS IN OPH FOR TIRE OUT -- LAND ON GOOD WHEEL; TRY TO HOLD BACK/SUSPECTED BAD WHEEL OFF AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. NOW ON WITH CTR; THEY WERE AWARE OF OUR SIT AND OFFERED A LOT OF HELP; KEPT US APPRISED OF CURRENT WX IN MSP. CTR OFFERED EMER VEHICLES/SVCS AT FCM; WHICH WE TURNED DOWN. WE FELT PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THE WHEEL WAS STILL INTACT. WE WERE CLRED FOR A VISUAL APCH INTO FCM; WHICH CFII FLEW. NORMAL AND UNEVENTFUL LNDG ON RWY 9R AT FCM. ADVISED MSP CLRNC DELIVERY ON 121.7 AT FCM THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE; AND CANCELED OUR IFR PLAN. I DIDN'T RECORD THE LNDG TIME; BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS APPROX XX00. UPON LNDG AT FCM; WITH THE GND LIGHTS WAS THE FIRST WE SAW OF THE WING DAMAGE. TAXIED TO HANGAR; CONTINUED TO ASSESS DAMAGE; AND ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT AN ABC CLUB OFFICIAL. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT THE FAA CLASSIFIED THIS AS AN INCIDENT BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE WAS CONFINED TO THE WING SKIN AND NOT THE WING STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS. HE FURTHER STATED THAT THE INSTRUCTOR PLT WITH HIM DURING THIS INCIDENT COMMENTED THAT HE SHOULD NOT HAVE ALLOWED THE RPTR TO GO VISUAL UNTIL THE ARPT WAS IN SIGHT SINCE THE TRAINEE BECAME DISORIENTED AND DSNDED BELOW THE DECISION HT AFTER COMMENCING THE MISSED APCH.