Incident Details
A student pilot was performing his second solo flight in the traffic pattern. During the flare of his first landing, the airplane porpoised on the runway. The nose wheel impacted the runway three times, with each oscillation becoming harder. After the first landing, an air traffic controller contacted the flight school to inform them of the porpoised landing. The student pilot completed three more landings, then taxied back to the ramp and exited the airplane.
Aftermath
An initial assessment of the airplane revealed no obvious damage. The aircraft was flown two more times before another examination by the operator uncovered substantial damage to the firewall.
Examination
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
The source does not specify the aircraft type, registration, engine count, date, operator, location, occupants, injuries, damage items beyond the firewall, time of day, weather conditions, or ATC involvement details beyond the notification. No probable cause is stated in the source.