Synopsis
The nose landing gear of Cessna 152 G-WACF partially collapsed and the propeller struck the runway surface following a bounced landing by a student pilot during a training flight at Wycombe Air Park, Buckinghamshire.
History of the Flight
The flight was the student pilot's third solo flight, conducted immediately after a dual check with a flight instructor during which the student had completed two circuits assessed as "above average." Weather conditions were good, and the instructor watched from a nearby position as the student completed her first circuit and approached to land on asphalt Runway 24 with a slight crosswind from the left.
The approach appeared stable until, at approximately 100 ft above aerodrome level, the student began making over-corrections to the aircraft's pitch attitude while attempting to achieve the correct airspeed. The instructor observed the aircraft pitching up and down. The mainwheels touched down, then the aircraft bounced, in a nose-up attitude, to approximately 15 ft. The nose then dropped, causing the aircraft to land nosewheel-first and porpoise along the runway as groundspeed reduced.
The student recalled that after the bounce, she pulled the control column back without increasing power but was unsure of subsequent actions. She remembered the aircraft descending and, once on the ground, porpoising before she applied the brakes and moved clear of the runway. On instruction from air traffic control, she stopped the aircraft and shut it down. Damage was evident to the propeller, nose landing gear, and engine mounting.
Student's Assessment
In retrospect, the pilot believed she was unable to adequately control airspeed during the latter part of the approach and panicked slightly when the aircraft bounced. She had been trained to execute a go-around in such circumstances and realized that this is what she ought to have done.