What happened
The incident occurred during a solo training flight conducted by a student pilot. The primary objective of the sortie was to practice landing procedures at the local airport. During the sequence of maneuvers, the aircraft executed a third touch-and-go landing attempt.
Upon touchdown, the airplane contacted the runway surface with excessive force. This hard impact resulted in the immediate collapse of the nose landing gear strut. The sudden failure of the front support structure caused an immediate loss of directional control. Unable to maintain alignment with the runway centerline, the aircraft veered off the paved surface.
As the airplane departed the runway, the underside of the left wing struck an object on the ground. This secondary impact caused significant structural damage to the airframe. The student pilot later reported that the loss of control was directly attributable to the collapse of the nose gear strut following the hard landing.
The investigation
Post-incident examination confirmed the mechanical failure of the nose landing gear. The strut had collapsed under the stress of the hard touchdown. Inspections revealed structural damage to the underside of the left wing where it impacted an object during the off-runway excursion. No other mechanical anomalies were noted prior to the event.
Findings
The sequence of events was initiated by a hard landing during a touch-and-go maneuver. The collapse of the nose gear strut led to the loss of directional control. The subsequent veering off the runway resulted in ground contact with the left wing, causing further structural damage.