History of the Flight
The aircraft, a Cirrus SR22 registered N450CD, arrived at Grand Cayman from Edward Bodden Airport on Little Cayman. First contact with Owen Roberts Airport tower was made at 30 miles DME at 6,000 ft on an IFR flight plan. Two minutes later, the pilot cancelled the IFR flight plan and was cleared to join the circuit left downwind for Runway 08. The pilot reported downwind and was cleared to land. Abeam the control tower at 1,200 ft, the wind was from about 200° at 16 kt, becoming 240/12 on finals and 240/10 on touchdown.
The aircraft touched down and bounced twice before the pilot initiated a go-around. Although the propeller tips were later found to be badly damaged, the engine performed normally. An aircraft waiting at a holding point saw debris fall off (later identified as the nosewheel spat), and the tower asked the pilot to perform a fly-by for inspection. Apart from the missing spat, nothing amiss was seen, and the aircraft landed without further incident after a full emergency was declared by the airport.
Discussion
The pilot attributed the heavy, nosewheel-first landing to several factors. He stated that he touched down at 85 kt instead of the target 70 kt, largely due to his desire to land short and clear the runway as soon as possible since there was much traffic waiting. He was accustomed to arriving right downwind and turning over the coast. With the left downwind pattern, the geography of the coastline placed him about half a mile closer to the runway threshold. He believed the propeller strike occurred on the second bounce and that he should have gone around after the first.
Damage
The propeller tips were heavily bent and the nosewheel spat detached.