AMES, Iowa ― Iowa State University’s president was returning from an 11-day personal trip to North Carolina when he damaged a small university-owned airplane in a rough landing, the school confirmed Saturday.
President Steven Leath, a pilot, flew himself and his wife on July 3, 2015, in the university’s Cirrus SR22 to Ashe County, North Carolina, where he owns a home and helps manage a family-owned Christmas tree farm. A university spokesman said Leath met with a potential donor and had personal time in the state, where he worked for years in the university system before starting at Iowa State in 2012.
While returning 11 days later, Leath caused “substantial damage” to the plane after he hit the runway with one wing and a runway light with the other upon landing in Bloomington, Illinois. Leath has blamed gusty conditions for the incident, but flight experts told The Associated Press it appears to have been pilot error.
University spokesman John McCarroll said Leath reimbursed the university for part of the flight costs in November 2015. The plane was landing in Illinois for a refueling stop, he said.
The university, which is responsible for the aircraft maintenance, paid for the $12,000 in repairs to the plane instead of filing an insurance claim because “we had the money,” McCarroll said. The plane was also stored at the Bloomington airport for three or four weeks, but the cost of that wasn’t immediately available.
In addition, the university sent its other aircraft to pick up the Leaths in Bloomington at a cost of $2,200 that was billed to the “Greater University Fund,” a pot of unrestricted donations that Leath controls.
