What happened
The incident occurred while a student pilot was conducting his second solo flight. During the approach phase, the pilot attempted a touch-and-go maneuver. Upon initial contact with the runway surface, the aircraft experienced a hard landing followed by a bounce. The aircraft then porpoised along the runway before the nose gear assembly collapsed.
The impact and subsequent mechanical failure caused fire to erupt from the engine area. Examination of the wreckage revealed that upon contact with the runway, the nose gear assembly separated rearward. This separation caused the fuel line fitting to detach at the carburetor, leading to the ignition source for the fire.
The investigation
Post-accident examination of the aircraft components focused on the structural integrity of the landing gear and the fuel system connections. Investigators determined that the nose gear assembly had separated rearward upon impact with the runway surface. This separation was directly responsible for the disconnection of the fuel line fitting at the carburetor.