History of the flight
After an uneventful local flight, the pilot joined the left-hand circuit for Runway 22 at Cranfield Airport. The weather was good, with a surface wind of 270°/15 kt. The approach was stable at 75 KIAS with landing flap selected, and the aircraft crossed the threshold at an indicated airspeed between 70 and 75 kt. The pilot intended to land long.
During touchdown, the aircraft contacted the runway on the main landing gear, then immediately lifted off again. The pilot held the control column back, and the aircraft touched down harder than the first time. It bounced back into the air and came down heavier and flatter, possibly contacting the runway nose landing gear first. The aircraft pitched forward as the nose landing gear collapsed from the impact, and the propeller struck the runway surface. At some stage, the passenger sustained an injury that might have been attributable to whiplash.
The aircraft quickly came to a stop on the runway, on a heading approximately 20° left of the runway centreline. The pilot carried out the shut down drills, and both persons vacated the aircraft through the normal exit. The airfield Rescue and Fire Fighting Service attended immediately and monitored the situation.
Analysis
While the pilot was unsure of the exact cause of the incident, in discussion with the flying school owner and operator, it was considered that the approach was too fast. It should have been flown at 65 KIAS.