What happened
The incident occurred while a student pilot was conducting touch-and-go landings. During one specific landing sequence, the aircraft touched down on the runway but bounced back into the air. Following this bounce, the airplane struck the runway surface a second time. In an attempt to execute a go-around maneuver, the pilot retracted the flaps and subsequently applied engine power.
This sequence of actions caused the airplane to enter a stall condition. The aircraft then impacted the runway surface again, which resulted in the collapse of the nose landing gear. Prior to this event, within the previous 90 days, the pilot had logged only 2.5 hours of flight time.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical state of the aircraft and the pilot's actions during the critical phase of the landing. Examination confirmed that the nose gear collapsed due to the impact forces generated when the stalled airplane hit the runway. The primary factor identified was the stall resulting from the premature retraction of flaps while airspeed was insufficient during the go-around attempt.
Findings
Contributing factors included the pilot's inadequate handling of the bounce and the subsequent decision to retract flaps before establishing a positive rate of climb. The lack of experience, evidenced by the low total flight time, likely impacted the pilot's ability to recognize and recover from the stall in a timely manner.