Incident Summary
On 2 April 2000, at approximately 1320 UTC, a Piper PA-38-112 (registration G-BMXL) was conducting circuit training at Wycombe Air Park (Booker). The aircraft was powered by a single Lycoming O-235-L2C piston engine and had been manufactured in 1980. The flight was a training detail with a commercial pilot holding Instructor and Instrument ratings as commander (42 years old, 1,000 total flight hours including 400 on type) and a student pilot. Weather conditions were good, with a surface wind from 130° at 5 to 8 knots.
Sequence of Events
During the training flight, four circuits had been completed on Runway 07. The student was observed to be flaring the aircraft too early during landings, leading the instructor to comment on the need to delay the flare. On the next approach, the student allowed the airspeed to decrease excessively and failed to flare before the aircraft contacted the ground. The instructor was unable to correct the landing in time, resulting in a hard impact. As the aircraft bounced back into the air, the instructor applied full power and initiated a go-around.
The instructor did not consider the landing to have been excessively hard but opted to land on the following approach. For the final landing, the instructor demonstrated the correct flare technique while the student followed through on the controls. This landing was normal; however, the unusual attitude of G-BMXL on the ground indicated that the aircraft had sustained damage.
Damage and Injuries
The nose landing gear was damaged. There were no injuries to the two crew members; no passengers were on board.
Investigation
The information for this report was derived from an Aircraft Accident Report Form submitted by the pilot. No probable cause was stated in the source material.