N5460KCessna 172P · 1980

According to the student pilot, during his third solo flight, the airplane was stable on the final leg of the traffic pattern. He increased the pitch of the airplane and began to flare when the stall warning horn sounded. The student pilot then released the back pressure on the yoke to decrease pitch, the airplane impacted the runway, and the nose wheel "bounced heavily." After the airplane bounced heavily, the nosewheel buckled and the right rudder pedal jammed to the right. The airplane then veered off to the right side of the runway, coming to rest in a grass apron. During the accident sequence, the airplane incurred substantial damage to the firewall. During a subsequent examination of the wreckage, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector found no preexisting anomalies of the airplane, nor did the student pilot report any.

According to the certified flight instructor, the student pilot was on approach for landing to runway 10 left. Prior to touchdown the student pilot pulled excessive back pressure on the elevator flight control and the airplane ballooned before touching down hard on the main landing gear. The certified flight instructor then took over the flight controls, made a go-around, and landed on another runway. The airplane received substantial damage to the rudder torque tube.