Cessna 152 N94500 accident near San Antonio, Texas

Probable cause

The student pilot's misjudgment of the landing flare, which resulted in a hard/bounced landing and subsequent impact with the runway.

NTSB analysis

The solo student pilot intended to practice takeoffs and landings at a nearby airport. On the first landing, the airplane touched down on the main wheels and bounced. The nose landing gear subsequently impacted the runway, separating the nosewheel and landing gear strut. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and wing struts. The pilot noted that she had very little practice with straight-in approaches. In addition, she thought that using the traffic pattern to set up for the landing might have prevented the accident. The student pilot's logbook revealed that this was her second solo flight and the first time she traveled to the nearby airport without a flight instructor on board. She had logged a total of 1/2 hour of solo flight time prior to the accident flight. Several flights had been logged between the student pilot's home airport and the nearby airport with a flight instructor on board. The logbook contained a current solo endorsement and an endorsement for repeated solo flights between the airports involved.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN12CA277 for the full record.