Primary finding
Probable cause
the student pilot's misjudged flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing. A factor was the lack of recent flight time.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot was executing touch-and-go landings. The airplane touched down and bounced back into the air followed by a second bounce where the pilot attempted to go around by retracting the flaps and then adding power. The airplane then stalled and hit on the runway collapsing the nose gear. In the previous 90 days the pilot had flown 2.5 hours.
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 24, 1997 at 1355 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 152, N5499B, was substantially damaged while executing touch and go landings at the Crystal Airport, Crystal, Minnesota. During one landing the aircraft hit hard collapsing the nose gear, and crushing the airplane's firewall. The student pilot was not injured in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the 14 CFR Part 91 flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot reported on the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that she had taken off from runway 05L and had executed a right hand traffic pattern. The pilot reported that the aircraft crossed the runway threshold slightly faster than normal. She reported that when the airplane touched down it bounced back into the air. The pilot reported that she believed the airplane was under control; however, the airplane bounced on the runway a second time. At this time the pilot reported that she reached over to "...pull the flaps up, and push the throttle in to correct the situation...", when the stall warning horn came on and the airplane nosed over. The pilot listed her total time at 57.6 hours, with pilot in command time listed as 9.5 hours. In the previous 90 days the pilot reported that she had flown 2.5 hours. Within the previous 30 days the pilot had flown 1.3 hours. The airplane's nose gear and engine mount were bent. The firewall was crushed. -