NTSB Factual Report

According to the pilot, he departed Raleigh Durham, North Carolina at about 1230 eastern standard time for a training/refueling flight to Siler City Municipal Airport in Siler City, North Carolina. While enroute a series of stalls, steep turns and slow flight was performed. After completing the air work it was decided to practice a simulated engine-out into Siler City. The pilot stated that "after crossing the airport boundary, the aircraft seemed to enter into a higher sink rate and slight power was added. A left turn to align with runway 22 was steeper than planned and the left wing lost lift striking the runway." The airplane hit a private taxiway embankment of about 2 to 3 feet high. It bounced over the embankment and continued into a swallow drainage ditch filled with large drainage rock. The airplane came to rest upright and facing away from the runway.

The pilot recommended he should "plan training maneuvers more thoroughly, anticipate aircraft performance in all configurations [and] terminate the maneuver as quickly as possible if events warrant, do not try to "Salvage" a maneuver."

Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector found substantial damage to the left wing, propeller, engine cowl, and landing gear. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to perform an aborted landing which resulted in an inflight collision with the runway.