Incident Details
A student pilot completed three landings earlier in the day under the supervision of a flight instructor. Following these sessions, the instructor signed off the student for their first solo flight. The student subsequently departed and remained within the traffic pattern.
Sequence of Events
During the initial landing attempt of the solo flight, the aircraft bounced upon touchdown. The bounce sequence continued for a total of three bounces. During the third bounce, the nose landing gear fork and wheel assembly separated from the aircraft. Subsequently, the propeller made contact with the runway surface.
Damage
The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the engine mount and firewall. The operator reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. No other factors or conditions were identified in the report.