ERA11CA408

Factual narrative

The student pilot stated she was completing her first solo cross-country flight. She set up for runway 34 and entered the final approach at an airspeed of 70 knots. She landed the airplane on its main landing gear but it bounced. She then decreased the pitch of the airplane's nose, resulting in the nose wheel touching down independently of the main landing gear. The airplane's nose wheel strut broke loose from its attachments and was driven into the engine compartment, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. She was able to keep the airplane on the runway during the entire landing sequence and roll. She taxied the airplane off of the runway and did not report any mechanical anomalies with the aircraft. Weather conditions recorded at the airport about the time of the accident included winds from 340 degrees true at 7 knots. The student pilot stated that she was completing her first solo cross-country flight. She landed the airplane on its main landing gear but it bounced. She then decreased the pitch of the airplane's nose, resulting in the nosewheel touching down independently of the main landing gear. The airplane's nosewheel strut broke loose from its attachments and was driven into the engine compartment, which resulted in substantial damage to the firewall. She was able to keep the airplane on the runway during the entire landing sequence and roll. She taxied the airplane off of the runway and did not report any mechanical anomalies with the aircraft. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C