Incident Description
A student pilot, flying his first solo flight, reported that during the third landing, the airplane was slightly high on final approach. While flaring, a crosswind lifted the right wing, causing the airplane to bounce nose wheel first onto the runway. The nose wheel partially collapsed, the propeller struck the runway surface, and the airplane skidded to a stop.
The firewall sustained substantial damage. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation.
Weather Information
The automated weather observing system (AWOS) at the airport recorded the wind approximately 7 minutes before the accident as 020 degrees true at 11 knots, gusting to 15 knots. About 53 minutes after the accident, the AWOS recorded the wind as 330 degrees true at 8 knots. The student pilot reported that the landing was conducted on runway 33.