Event LAX03LA170

Factual narrative

On May 29, 2003, about 1020 Hawaiian standard time, a Cessna 172S, N5329L, landed hard and porpoised down the runway before coming to rest on its nose at Kalaeloa Airport/John Rogers Field, Kapolei, Hawaii. The airplane was owned and operated by Flight School Hawaii, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane was substantially damaged. The local supervised solo instructional flight departed Kapolei about 1000. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. According to the manager at Flight School Hawaii, this was the student's first supervised solo. Prior to the accident she had been doing pattern work with her certified flight instructor (CFI), which included five takeoffs and landings. No discrepancies were noted with the student's landings. On the accident landing, the first solo landing, the airplane landed hard and began to porpoise down the runway. The student was unable to initiate a recovery before the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest on its nose. During the accident, the airplane incurred damage to the firewall and nose landing gear. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. The student pilot was on her first solo flight. On her first landing, the airplane landed hard, bounced, and began to porpoise down the runway. The nose landing gear subsequently collapsed, damaging the nose landing gear and firewall. The student pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12