Treadigraph
I find it inconceivable that anybody could lose a portion of wing (of whatever length) in the circumstances and not notice the impact nor the absence of a portion of said aeroplane
Let me say this nicely. As a PPL, with several hundred hours of normal operational experience, I would not feel qualified to make the assertion that you have made.
If John Farley, who gained years of experience as a test pilot, is reading this thread, he may feel able to give an opinion. Or Ghengis.
I think it is best if the non-qualified, including you and me, wait for the accident report and do not engage in wild speculation.
Monty's Tea Boy
Depends whether the damage was visible and without sitting in the aircraft and looking, that's difficult to know.
If it was, then there are some searching questions to be asked, but again the enquiry should consider that.
The 210 is a strutless, cantilever wing and perhaps the lack of visual references, combined with the effect of dihedral (which this model also has, unlike many other Cessna singles) made the damage less easy to perceive. IS the slight downturn of the wingtip (which if missing would be aclue) normally in or out of sight given the raising effect of the dihedral?
Also, note that the view of the right wingtip is obscured by the weather radar pod, so perhaps the pilot lacks an immediate visual comparison between the two wing tips. Also the damaged tip seems to be pointing upwards, out ouf the pilot's sightline?
You Gimboid
Extending your line of thinking, I wonder about the sudden loss of airspeed that pruning some of the wing would cause through friction (i.e. on impact), especially in a phase of flight where the airspeed is relatively low?
Presumably there would be also some impact on immediate directional control too, ie putting the ac out of balance and increasing drag. In a way, I am surprised that the aircraft still flew. Makes you wonder where the debris landed, near the field or some miles down track (was it initially weakened by an impact and departed later?)
Again, it will be interesting to see the report conclusions.
Edited to include Ghengis as a person who is qulified to speculate on whether a pilot could fail to notice the loss of ANY length of wing.