Cessna 152 N152LT accident near Oak Harbor, Washington

Probable cause

The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing.

NTSB analysis

According to the student pilot, his first solo flight was conducted at an airport that he was not familiar with and he was "very nervous." Although his flight instructor had a hand-held two-way radio to communicate with the student, the instructor's two-way radio malfunctioned, and the student was not able to communicate with the instructor during the flight in the traffic pattern.

On final, the student noticed that the airplane was "getting too low, too fast and I added power." When he felt the landing was assured, he reduced the power, and the airplane bounced. He added that the airplane bounced again and, "I knew something was up but at the moment I froze." The nose landing gear wheel struck the runway hard and separated from the airplane, and it then skidded to a stop.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts and the right wing.

The instructor reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had provided more training to address the changes in performance given that he weighed 235 lbs and that he was not occupying the right front seat during the solo flight.

The student reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA18CA461 for the full record.