Accident Details
A student pilot was conducting a solo long cross-country flight. According to the pilot, he failed to land at either of his intended destination airports due to strong headwinds and gusty surface winds. Upon returning to his departure airport, the student pilot executed a go-around on his first landing attempt because of surface winds, which he recalled were gusting to 37 knots.
On his second landing attempt, the student pilot reported that a gust of wind pushed the airplane down onto the runway. The aircraft then bounced and landed hard on the nose gear, causing structural damage to the nose gear and the firewall.
Pilot Background
A review of the student pilot's logbook revealed that the flight instructor had cleared the student for the solo long cross-country flight even though the logbook endorsement specified a maximum surface wind limitation of 20 knots.