Aircraft and Pilot Information
The aircraft involved was a Cessna A152 Aerobat, registration G-BOYB, manufactured in 1980. It was powered by a single Lycoming O-235-L2C piston engine. The flight was a solo training flight with one student pilot on board. The pilot, aged 38, held a student pilot licence and had a total of 59 hours of flying experience, all on the same aircraft type. In the preceding 90 days, he had flown 14 hours, with 13 hours in the last 28 days.
Flight History
On 14 July 2003 at 1505 UTC, the student pilot was returning to Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire, after a local training flight. He lined up for an approach to Runway 07, which was a grass runway. The surface wind was from 120° at 12 knots.
The pilot reported that his approach was too steep and that he began the flare too high above the runway. He then applied power to prevent a stall and pushed forward on the control yoke.
Accident Sequence
An instructor observed the aircraft land heavily on its main wheels and then bounce approximately 2 to 3 feet. On the second touchdown, the aircraft struck the runway nose wheel first, followed by the main wheels, and then bounced again to a height of about 6 to 7 feet. On the third touchdown, the aircraft again contacted the ground nose wheel first, followed by the main wheels, and bounced up to approximately 10 feet.
The instructor then reported seeing the aircraft descending in a steep nose-down attitude. It landed on its nose wheel, at which point the nose gear collapsed. The aircraft skidded to a stop, resting on its nose.
Damage and Injuries
The nose gear collapsed, the propeller was bent, and the engine was shock loaded. The student pilot suffered minor grazing to one leg and to his shoulder but exited the aircraft through the left door without difficulty. The pilot was the only person on board.
The source did not state a probable cause for the accident.