Overview
On 20 March 2001 at 1555Z, a Cessna 172 N, registration ZS-MDX, was involved in an accident while on a training flight at FAWB (Wonderboom Airport). The aircraft was conducting solo circuit and landing training with a student pilot as the sole occupant. There were no injuries or fatalities.
Accident Details
The student pilot was on his fourth landing of the sortie. During the landing, the aircraft touched down hard on the nose wheel. The impact caused the nose wheel to disintegrate. Additionally, the nose gear attachment bracket and the firewall sustained damage. The accident occurred on Runway 11 at FAWB.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a valid student pilot license and had accumulated 20 total flying hours, all on the Cessna 172 type. This was his third solo sortie, with only 1.9 hours of solo flight time at the time of the accident. The flight was duly authorized, and his training file showed no abnormalities, indicating satisfactory progress.
Aircraft and Maintenance
The aircraft, a Cessna 172 N with registration ZS-MDX, was maintained as prescribed. The next mandatory periodic inspection (MPI) was due on 20 February 2002 or at 5431.5 flying hours, whichever occurred first. Since the last MPI, the aircraft had been operated for 67 hours. Investigation of the nose wheel hub revealed no evidence of fatigue or corrosion that could have caused the hub to fail.
Probable Cause
The probable cause of the accident was a hard landing on the nose wheel.