Incident Overview
A student pilot, on the second landing of his third solo instructional flight, experienced a hard landing that resulted in a porpoise sequence and subsequent collapse of the nose gear. The pilot had been cleared for the option and recalled feeling fatigued and disoriented before turning to the base leg. However, after turning onto the final approach, he reported feeling normal again.
Pilot Account
According to the student pilot, he configured the aircraft for landing but noted that his airspeed was high and the aircraft was descending at a rapid rate. The aircraft landed hard and became airborne again. The pilot attempted to recover from the hard landing, but the aircraft continued to porpoise down the runway until the nose gear collapsed.
Sequence of Events
The incident occurred during a solo instructional flight. The pilot's fatigue and disorientation prior to the base leg turn subsided once on final. Despite feeling normal, the approach was characterized by high airspeed and a rapid descent rate. The hard landing initiated a porpoise motion that the pilot could not arrest, leading to the collapse of the nose gear.
Outcome
The nose gear collapsed as a result of the porpoising. No further details about injuries or damage beyond the nose gear collapse were provided in the source.