What happened
The incident occurred during the final phase of a solo cross-country flight. The student pilot was attempting a full-stop landing at the end of a long leg. Due to limited recent experience, having flown only 4.7 hours in the preceding ninety days, the pilot landed the aircraft significantly beyond the intended touchdown point and at an excessive speed. Unable to bring the aircraft to a halt within the remaining runway length, the plane overran the pavement.
After leaving the end of the runway, the aircraft encountered a 15-foot drop-off. The impact with this terrain change caused the nose gear to collapse, resulting in a nosed-over attitude for the aircraft.
The investigation
Investigation of the scene confirmed that the aircraft departed the paved surface at the end of the runway. The damage was consistent with striking a vertical drop-off of approximately 15 feet. No mechanical failures were reported as contributing to the overrun prior to the departure from the runway environment.
Findings
Contributing factors included the pilot's limited recent flight experience and the inability to stop the aircraft on the available runway surface. The landing was executed long and fast, exceeding the performance capabilities of the runway length for a full-stop maneuver under the conditions present.