What happened
On 1 August 2003, a Cessna 172S Skyhawk, registration G-UFCF, was conducting a solo training flight at Newtownards Airport. The flight followed a circuit training session with an instructor. Weather conditions were favorable, characterized by good visibility and a light wind aligned with the runway.
During the initial landing attempt on runway 22, the aircraft flared aggressively, causing it to balloon and bounce multiple times along the runway surface. During one of these touchdowns, the propeller made contact with the ground. In an attempt to recover, the pilot applied full power and retracted the flaps to initiate a go-around. However, the aircraft's performance was noticeably degraded following the strike. The pilot declared a MAYDAY and completed a low-level circuit, eventually performing a safe landing. There were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft and the pilot's flight history. The pilot was in the process of obtaining a PPL(A) and had accumulated 17 hours of experience on this specific aircraft type, having previously flown weight-shift and three-axis microlights.
Post-flight inspections of G-UFCF identified damage to the propeller tips, buckling of the cockpit floor, and damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that after the bounced landing, he had lowered the nose of the aircraft instead of maintaining the necessary landing attitude. The instructor suggested that the pilot may have inadvertently applied techniques learned from weight-shift microlight flying during the high-stress moment of the bounce.