SEA02LA100

During the first landing for the student pilot's first solo flight, the aircraft landed hard and bounced twice. On the third touchdown, the nose gear collapsed and the aircraft slid to a stop. The firewall was damaged as a result of the nose gear collapse at the upper attachment mount. Smoke was observed coming from the engine compartment area shortly after the pilot exited the aircraft. A fire erupted a few minutes later and consumed the aircraft. No mechanical failures or malfunctions were reported with the aircraft at the time of the accident.

On June 14, 2002, at 1437 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N757FY, registered to and operated by Hillsboro Aviation Inc., as a 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, collapsed the nose gear during landing at the Portland-Hillsboro Airport, Hillsboro, Oregon. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the student pilot was not injured.

A representative of the operator reported that this was the student pilot's first solo flight. The pilot was landing on runway 30. The aircraft landed hard and bounced twice. On the third touchdown, the nose gear collapsed and the aircraft slid to a stop. Smoke was observed coming from the engine compartment area shortly after the pilot exited the aircraft. A fire erupted a few minutes later and consumed the aircraft.

At the time of the accident, the pilot had accumulated a total flight time in all aircraft of 16 hours.

A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector from the Hillsboro, Oregon, Flight Standards District Office inspected the aircraft. The inspector reported that as a result of the nose gear collapse at the upper attachment, and the aircraft sliding down the runway, the firewall was damaged. The carburetor bowl was fractured and a ruptured fuel line was noted near the firewall shutoff.

The 1453 METAR weather observation at Hillsboro, reported the winds from 200 degrees at 4 knots.