DA20 student and Flight Instructor reported a gear collapse and prop strike event after a series of bounced landings.
Synopsis
DA20 student and Flight Instructor reported a gear collapse and prop strike event after a series of bounced landings.
Narrative
Instructional flight for a flight instructor to get checked out in a DA 20 aircraft for spin certification. I was the student for the flight and the mission goal was for aircraft familiarization. The first hour of flight was spent doing basic maneuvers and a few spins. The crew then headed back to ZZZ to practice landings. The plan was to have a normal landing; followed by a couple of abnormal landing/flap configurations. The first landing went well; on the second touch and go I was fast and called for a go around at 200 AGL. On the second attempt (in a flaps takeoff setting) I came in with much better speed control but floated two/three stripes followed by a bounced landing. On the bounce the instructor called for a go around. I as the student applied power on the second bounce but the aircraft came down for a third bounce and the nose wheel collapsed followed by a prop strike. The runway was shut down for a period of time while the crew exited the aircraft and notified the appropriate authorities. The crew walked away with no injuries.
Second reporter narrative
This incident occurred on a training flight conducted out of ZZZ. This flight was an airframe familiarization flight on a DA20-C1 for a CFI/II. The purpose of the training was to ensure the CFI would have proficiency to take an exam for EASA certification in a new aircraft. We did a normal takeoff and departure out to the northeast practice area for commercial maneuvers. Steep turns; slow flight clean; slow flight dirty; power off stall; power on stall; accelerated stall; lazy 8s; and Chandelles. I then took controls to demonstrate a spin entry and recovery to both the left and right. My student took controls again for an arrival back to ZZZ Runway XXR for pattern work. We began with a normal landing for a touch and go; right traffic. Our next landing was to be a partial flaps; flaps takeoff landing. We were high; so my student decided to slip to land. We recaptured glide path but as we reached 300ft above TDZE we were fast at 80kts. Vref for a flaps takeoff landing is 60kts. My student called and executed a go around appropriately for a second attempt. This time around our energy management was much better as we slipped to land and recaptured glide path at 250ft above TDZE at 65kts and speed trending down. At this point we decided to continue the approach to land. We came in flat and bounced. As we began to settle back towards the runway for a second bounce I called a go around. We bounced a second time and began to porpoise. My student applied full power for the go around and when the aircraft made contact with the runway a third time the nose gear collapsed. This was shortly followed by a prop strike. At this point I took controls to shut down the engine and bring the aircraft to a stop on the runway. I then contacted Tower and we exited the airplane. I believe there were multiple contributing factors to this incident; but ultimately had I taken control of the aircraft sooner I may have prevented damage. I believe human performance considerations were at play as well. I had an inaccurate perception that because my student was a CFI; I made a judgement that I could delay stepping in to take action. This incident can be prevented in the future by taking immediate action; especially following an initial bounce; regardless of who the Pilot Flying is next to me. My school has developed a retraining plan for me; and this will also prevent reoccurrence should I encounter a similar situation in the future.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.