N53417Cessna 172R · 2003

The student pilot stated that she was practicing touch-and-goes on runway 4 (3,568 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) as part of a solo instructional flight when the accident occurred. She noted that the winds were variable and gusty, and it was "choppy" in the pattern. The accident occurred on what was to be the final landing for the day. The pilot reported that the airplane was established on final approach about 65 knots. The airplane was slightly low, but she did not feel the need to correct the glide path. The airplane touched down and its nose suddenly turned to the left. As the nose went to the left, the airplane bounced. She "gently lowered the nose, but the plane bounced again and again." Her efforts to regain control were not successful and the airplane ultimately came to rest in a grass area to the left side of the runway. The nose landing gear collapsed during the accident sequence. A post accident inspection did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a pre-impact failure or malfunction. Archived weather information was not available for the accident airport. Winds recorded at an airport about 10 miles north of the accident airport were from 110 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot reported a total flight time of 97.5 hours. She had accumulated a total of 5.8 hours as pilot-in-command (PIC) and 2.3 hours as PIC in the same make and model aircraft.