What happened
Following a first-time familiarization flight, the pilot returned to the base field for landing. During the landing attempt, the aircraft bounced upon initial contact with the runway. In an effort to recover from the bounce, the pilot pitched the nose up too high.
This excessive pitch attitude caused the aircraft to stall. The stalled aircraft then struck the runway surface again, resulting in damage to the landing gear, propeller, spray pump, and upper longerons.
The investigation
The examination of the wreckage revealed damage consistent with a hard landing following a stall. The impact forces affected the lower structure of the airframe, specifically the landing gear assembly and the fuselage longerons. The propulsion system sustained damage to the propeller blades. Additionally, the external spray pump mounted on the aircraft was damaged by the impact.
Findings
The primary factor in this accident was the pilot's decision to pitch the nose up excessively during the recovery from a bounced landing. This action exceeded the critical angle of attack, leading to an aerodynamic stall at low altitude with insufficient energy to recover before ground contact.