Primary finding
Probable cause
The student pilot’s improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot was performing a supervised solo flight in the airport traffic pattern. Following an uneventful circuit around the traffic pattern, and while on final approach to the runway, the pilot held the airplane in a nose-low attitude in order to avoid losing airspeed. The pilot then flared the airplane “too late,” and the nose landing gear impacted the runway hard, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical anomalies of the airplane, nor were any discovered during post-accident examination of the airframe.
Source record
Factual narrative
The student pilot was performing a supervised solo flight in the airport traffic pattern. Following an uneventful circuit around the traffic pattern, and while on final approach to the runway, the pilot held the airplane in a nose-low attitude in order to avoid losing airspeed. The pilot then flared the airplane “too late,” and the nose landing gear impacted the runway hard, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical anomalies of the airplane, nor were any discovered during post-accident examination of the airframe by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector.