The solo student pilot reported that his second approach for landing was low and when he flared, the wheels contacted the runway and the airplane bounced. The student pilot did not want to stall the airplane, so he pitched the nose down to level the airplane and the airplane bounced again, drifted and exited the runway to the left. Subsequently, the airplane landed hard and the nose landing gear collapsed.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount.

The airplane operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.