Accident Details
The accident occurred during a solo cross-country flight when the student pilot was landing at the destination airport. While touching down, the pilot over-controlled the airplane, causing it to porpoise—a series of oscillations between nose-up and nose-down attitudes. Subsequently, the airplane descended nose-low until the propeller struck the runway. The impact caused the nose landing gear to break off. The airplane continued to skid along the runway, veered off the left side, then returned to the runway surface, eventually coming to rest near the centerline.
Post-accident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no discrepancies or pre-existing malfunctions. The accident sequence appears to have been initiated solely by the pilot's control inputs during the landing flare.
Pilot Information
The student pilot, flying solo, had accumulated a total of 67.8 flight hours at the time of the accident. No other occupants were on board.