What happened
The incident occurred at Tallahassee Regional Airport during a training flight. The student pilot was attempting a full-stop landing on runway 36. According to the pilot's statement, the flare maneuver was executed either too late or with insufficient back-pressure, failing to arrest the descent rate effectively.
Consequently, the airplane impacted the runway surface in a nose-down attitude rather than on the main gear first. The aircraft bounced upon initial contact and failed to remain on the paved surface. It departed the runway to the left side and continued moving until it came to a stop, also in a nose-down attitude.
The investigation
Post-incident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage resulting from the hard landing and subsequent departure from the runway environment. The specific mechanical failures were consistent with the forces generated by the nose-down impact and bounce.