What happened
On 26 June 2011, a Cessna 152, registration G-BSZO, was engaged in a training flight at Southend Airport, Essex. The flight was being conducted by a student pilot performing solo circuits. Prior to this solo session, the student had completed three dual circuits with an instructor, which were noted to be of a good standard. Following the instructor's briefing, the student proceeded to fly three solo circuits.
While the first two circuits were completed successfully, the third circuit ended in a heavy touchdown. This impact caused the aircraft to bounce. During the subsequent second bounce, the aircraft's nosewheel collapsed. As a result, the nose and the left wingtip of the aircraft struck the ground, leading to damage to the propeller, the nosewheel, and the left wingtip. No injuries were sustained by the pilot during the incident.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report form provided by the student pilot. The inquiry examined the sequence of the landing and the pilot's decision-making process during the bounced touchdown. The investigation established that the student pilot had experienced a series of bounces during the final landing attempt. The pilot later acknowledged that a go-around should have been initiated immediately after the first bounce, but noted that by the time the second bounce occurred, it was too late to safely abort the landing.