Event WPR14CA260

Factual narrative

The student pilot was making the last landing on his solo cross-country flight. On final approach the airspeed was high, and the airplane floated down the runway. The airplane landed hard and bounced back into the air. After the bounce, he applied power to abort the landing, but the airplane landed hard again, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage firewall. The student pilot was making the last landing on his solo cross-country flight. On final approach the airspeed was high, and the airplane floated down the runway. The airplane landed hard and bounced back into the air. After the bounce, he applied power to abort the landing, but the airplane landed hard again, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage firewall. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C