Small Aircraft; High Wing; 1 Eng; Fixed Gear
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150; Flight Crew Total 20000; Flight Crew Type 1000
Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT; Inflight Event / Encounter Object
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Human Factors; Environment - Non Weather Related
Student and instructor were on a night cross-country. Traffic pattern was entered and to verify wind direction we did not descend on downwind but continued on an upwind leg to ensure we would be ready for the landing. We turned crosswind and downwind and did our before landing procedure. Student was slow to configure the aircraft which extended the downwind leg further than desired and upon turning base we noted we were low on the VASI. The student made a correction to get back on/above the glide path which was too little. I as the instructor was too late and too slow to inspire a more aggressive correction until the top of the tree came into view. I took control of the airplane and landed uneventfully and taxied to parking. There was no indication of flight control malfunction nor any indication of a loss of engine RPM. Subsequent inspection revealed slight damage to the right main landing gear fairing and damage to the left horizontal stabilizer fairing. I suspect that the propeller may have been impacted but there was no sudden stoppage of the prop. Of note; when the runway lights were activated by the CTAF; the lights on the north side of the runway from midfield to the departure end did not illuminate. What did come on was all of the lights on the south side of the runway and half the lights on the north side from the approach end to midfield. Also; I'm aware that the VASI glide slope angle is set higher than a three degree glide slope because of obstructions (trees) and the angle used to be published in the Chart Supplement; but that information is no longer available.
Instructor reported possibly clipping a tree on approach due to being lower then normal.