N144MECessna 172S · 2000

During a full stop landing at an airport on the second leg of a multiple leg cross country flight, the student pilot landed, the airplane bounced, and then touched down again, hard on the nose landing gear. The student pilot then lost directional control, the airplane drifted towards the left side of the runway, and then came to rest. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane had incurred substantial damage. The tip of one propeller blade was bent, the nose wheel landing gear tire was flat, the cabin floor was wrinkled, the belly skin of the fuselage was wrinkled, and the firewall was buckled. The student pilot was uninjured, and he advised that he had no mechanical problems prior to the accident.

According to the student pilot, the first landing attempt of the solo cross country flight resulted in a go-around. During his second attempt, the student pilot landed the airplane about one-third of the way down the 5,188-foot runway, "hard but smooth (not a bounce);" however, the airplane subsequently became airborne. The student pilot landed the airplane once more, and although he believed the “plane had safely and completely landed,” it became airborne yet again. At that point, the student pilot felt a go-around was not possible, and "pulled back" on the flight controls. The airplane then "probably stalled and dropped to the runway," the nose landing gear collapsed, and damage to the engine firewall and left wing resulted. Winds at the time were variable at 4 knots. No preaccident mechanical anomalies were noted by the student pilot.