Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot was conducting a touch-and-go landing while on a student solo cross country flight. He landed hard and bounced. On the third touch down, the nose gear sheared off the aircraft.
Source record
Factual narrative
On September 28, 1994, at 1145 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182N, N9ZG, landed hard at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport, Cortez, Colorado. The pilot was not injured and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight was a student solo cross country which originated earlier in the day from Grand Junction, Colorado, with the first leg to Farmington, New Mexico. After a short break in Farmington, the flight departed for the return trip to Grand Junction with a touch-and-go planned at Cortez, Colorado. According to the pilot, when landing at Cortez, he flared high and the firsttouch down was hard. The second touchdown was more firm and the pilot said he added some power for the third touchdown as the stall warning horn had sounded. On the third touchdown, the nose wheel sheared off and the aircraft slid to a stop on the runway. -