Aircraft and Pilot Information
The aircraft involved was a Cessna 152, registration SP-WLC, operated by Navcom Systems Fly. The pilot was a 27-year-old female student pilot with a total flight time of 40 hours and 34 minutes, including 4 hours and 34 minutes of solo flying. On the day of the event, she had completed a check flight with an instructor and a solo cross-country flight lasting 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Accident Sequence
On 22 September 2019 at approximately 15:44 local time, the student pilot was returning from her second solo cross-country flight to Świdnik aerodrome (EPSL) near Lublin. After contacting the tower controller and receiving landing clearance for runway 24, she initiated the approach. The approach was described as correct, but the pilot did not perform the flare and hold-off phase, resulting in a three-point landing not being achieved. The aircraft bounced and then, due to an incorrect reaction from the pilot—pushing the control column forward—the nose gear struck the runway hard. The landing was performed into the sun, which hindered the pilot's height perception. The pilot was properly restrained and was not injured, exiting the aircraft unassisted.
Damage
The aircraft sustained serious damage, including: a broken nose gear fork and frame; damaged engine mount and cowlings; destroyed propeller spinner and blades; deformed firewall; damaged forward cabin floor; damaged fuselage skin; and a jammed control system due to floor deformation.
Probable Cause
The investigation determined two probable causes: 1) an error in piloting technique—lack of flare and hold-off phase leading to a bounce; 2) an incorrect reaction after the bounce (forward control column input) resulting in a hard landing on the nose gear. A contributing circumstance was sunlight reflection on the canopy during the approach.