Event Details
On 26 July 1999 at 1341 UTC, a Cessna 152 (registration G-BPBG, year of manufacture 1981) was engaged in a solo student training flight at Inverness Airport, Scotland. The aircraft was powered by a single Lycoming O-235-L2C piston engine. The student pilot, aged 24, held a student pilot license and had accumulated 32 total flying hours, of which 26 were on type. In the preceding 90 days, the pilot had flown 4 hours, all within the last 28 days. The flight was a private training detail with only the pilot on board; no passengers were carried.
Flight and Landing Attempt
The pilot was conducting a left-hand circuit pattern for Runway 06. Surface wind was reported as calm. During the first landing attempt, the aircraft ballooned, then touched down heavily and bounced. On the second touchdown, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft came to rest on its nose and left wing tip. The pilot assessed that insufficient back pressure had been maintained on the control column following the initial bounce. The student pilot had just over three hours of solo flying experience at the time of the accident.
Aftermath
There was some leakage of fuel, but no fire occurred. The pilot vacated the aircraft through the left door and was uninjured. Damage was limited to the nose landing gear, propeller, and left wing.