LAX00LA164

The pilot reported that on final approach he was too high and too fast for landing. He attempted to lose altitude too quickly, which increased his airspeed above the recommended landing airspeed. After touchdown the airplane porpoised down the runway breaking off the nose landing gear wheel. The airplane skidded off the runway, nosed down, and then back down on its main landing gear. No mechanical malfunctions were reported.

On April 20, 2000, at 1530 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna U206G, N7260N, departed runway 19 after landing at the Avi Suquilla Airport, Parker, Arizona. The airplane, owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, sustained substantial damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the solo cross-country instructional flight that departed the Goodyear, Arizona, airport at 1438, with scheduled stops at the Avi Suquilla and Blythe, California, airports and back to Goodyear. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed.

The pilot reported that the landing approach was too high and he tried to overcorrect resulting in an increase in airspeed on landing. After initial touchdown the airplane porpoised down the runway. On the second bounce the nose wheel was broken off, and on the third bounce the propeller struck the runway. The airplane skidded off the left side of the runway coming to rest in the dirt. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the airplane.

Witnesses to the accident reported that they had been in a hangar talking when they heard a loud screech. They looked outside and saw the accident airplane bouncing down the runway without a front wheel. The airplane bounced about 2 feet in the air, and when it came back down, it slid down the runway on its nose where it exited the runway to the east side. They saw the airplane nose down and then back down on the main landing gear.