Accident Summary
A 40-hour solo student pilot experienced a hard landing on runway 17L, which led to a bounced landing and subsequent porpoising. The runway was 35 feet wide, 3,987 feet long, and constructed of dry asphalt. The single-engine airplane landed hard, then bounced, porpoising several times until the nose landing gear collapsed and the propeller contacted the runway surface.
Sequence of Events
During the landing attempt on runway 17L, the airplane made hard contact with the runway, resulting in a bounce. The pilot did not recover from the bounced landing, and the aircraft porpoised repeatedly. The oscillations continued until the nose landing gear failed, allowing the nose of the airplane to drop and the propeller to strike the runway.
Damage Assessment
An FAA inspector who examined the accident site reported structural damage to the engine mounts and the engine firewall. The propeller strike and collapse of the nose landing gear caused significant damage to these components.