Incident Overview
A flight instructor/pilot was conducting an introductory flight for a passenger. The landing was attempted on a 2,770-foot-long asphalt runway. Upon touchdown, the airplane began to bounce. After the third touchdown, the nose gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage.
Pilot and Passenger Accounts
The pilot described the second touchdown as "rough," while the passenger characterized it as "much more forceful than the initial touchdown." The pilot stated that he considered aborting the landing after the first bounce but elected to continue the landing attempt.
Postaccident Examination
Postaccident examination of the airplane included a metallurgical examination of the nose landing gear assembly. No preaccident malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation were found.
Pilot Experience
The pilot reported approximately 440 hours of total flight experience, which included about 8 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane. Of those, 1.2 hours were accumulated during the previous 90 days.