Incident Summary
A student pilot, conducting his first solo flight after completing four touch-and-go landings with an instructor, encountered difficulties during subsequent touch-and-go landings. The sequence of events led to a nose wheel tire blowout and a propeller strike on the runway. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions.
Sequence of Events
The student pilot had performed four touch-and-go landings with an instructor aboard. After the instructor deplaned, the student commenced his first solo flight and continued with touch-and-go landings. Following the first solo touch-and-go, the pilot departed for left closed traffic for his second touch-and-go. While reporting midfield downwind as instructed during his takeoff clearance, he was informed that he was number two in sequence, following traffic on right base for runway 11, and was told to extend his downwind leg, which he did.
The pilot established final glide path, trimmed the aircraft, and reported that everything looked good. The final approach was made with the engine at idle. Airspeed was decreasing, and over the runway numbers the airspeed was approximately 65 knots, which the pilot considered slightly high but not problematic. He assessed that everything was set for a touch-and-go landing on the touchdown zone.
Upon touchdown, the aircraft ballooned. The pilot flared, and the plane ballooned again. He felt the plane was down, but it ballooned a third time. On the third landing attempt, the aircraft touched down on the nose wheel. The nose wheel tire blew out, causing the propeller to strike the runway.
Pilot Report
The student pilot stated that at no time did he feel the aircraft was out of control. He was able to maintain directional control and cleared the runway at the taxiway. He brought the aircraft to a stop and secured it using the shutdown checklist procedures. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction.