Introduction
An accident involving a solo flight for a commercial pilot certificate occurred when the pilot misjudged the aircraft's height during the landing flare. The pilot reported that he had sought instruction from a flight instructor to complete his airplane single-engine land commercial certificate. He had obtained his airplane multi-engine land commercial certificate two years earlier and his airplane single-engine land private certificate three years prior.
Flight Details
During the solo flight, the pilot made an approach but noted that the aircraft's airspeed was fast. He intended to float along the 8,000-foot runway, extending the distance to touchdown because he wanted to exit at the taxiway near the end of the runway. The pilot reported that during the flare, he misperceived the aircraft's height above the runway because the runway was 50 feet wider than his departure airport's runway. The airplane "sunk", touched down on the main landing gear, and bounced.
Landing Sequence
After the first bounce, the pilot panicked and applied back pressure to the yoke, thinking that it would slow him down. The airplane bounced several times. He then applied forward pressure to the yoke "to get some forward momentum to flare again." The airplane eventually settled on the runway. During taxi, the pilot felt something was wrong with the nose wheel but continued to taxi to the hangar.
Aftermath
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower engine mounts. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.