CEN19LA302

The student pilot was conducting a solo cross-country flight. Upon arriving at the destination airport, he overflew the runway to determine the wind direction from the windsock then performed a normal approach. He stated that, during the landing flare, a gust of wind came from the right side and lifted the airplane. The airplane then landed hard, bounced once, then came to a stop, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall and a collapsed nose landing gear. Review of the wind conditions revealed a light right crosswind around the time of the accident. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with an improper flare and hard landing.

On September 2, 2019, about 1515 central daylight time, a Cessna 172S airplane, N212BS, experienced a hard landing at the Fayette Regional Air Center Airport (3T5), La Grange, Texas. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to Euros Aircraft leasing LLC, and operated by the Brazos Valley Flight Services under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a student cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot, who held a student pilot certificate, stated that he flew across the airport at midfield and noticed the windsock indicated winds favored a landing on runway 34. He added that he did a normal approach, and during the landing flare just before touchdown, a gust of wind came from the right side and lifted the airplane. The airplane then landed hard, bounced once, and then came to a stop. An examination of the airplane noted substantial damage to the firewall and a collapsed nose landing gear. At 1515, the automated weather reporting station located at 3T5 recorded the wind at 050 degrees at 5 knots. At 1535, the station recorded the wind at 040 degrees at 7 knots, and at 1555, wind at 040 degrees, variable at 020 to 080 degrees, at 7 knots.