What happened
The incident occurred during a training flight involving a student pilot preparing for their first supervised solo. Prior to this specific event, the student had successfully completed five touch-and-go landings with an instructor present in the aircraft. The instructor then exited the aircraft, leaving the student to perform the next phase of the flight under supervision.
During the initial touch-and-go landing sequence of this solo attempt, the aircraft bounced upon touchdown on the main landing gear. In response to the bounce, the student pilot applied additional power and lowered the nose of the aircraft. This maneuver resulted in the nose gear striking the ground first. The impact caused the nose gear to collapse, after which the aircraft slid to a stop.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical condition of the aircraft following the event. Examination revealed that the nose landing gear had collapsed due to the excessive load imposed during the bounce recovery sequence.