Primary finding
Probable cause
The student pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control following a bounced landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot reported that while practicing solo touch-and-go landings in calm wind and on his second approach to landing, the approach was higher and faster than normal, and the airplane bounced “hard.” She continued to attempt to land the airplane rather than perform a go-around and bounced a second time significantly harder. The airplane climbed momentarily, stalled, pitched nose down, and impacted the runway hard. The nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a stop. The engine firewall and tunnel structure aft of the firewall sustained substantial damage. The student pilot reported that due to her “lack of experience” she did not immediately know how to correct the landing.