Reedsburg, WI, USA
N738VY
Cessna 172
The student pilot was conducting his third solo flight. He took off for a short local flight and subsequently returned to the departure airport to land. During the final approach, the student pilot stated he set 30° of flaps and was "carrying a little more airspeed than he likely should have." As he leveled out over the runway, the nose dropped before he began to flare, and the airplane began to porpoise. After three hard bounces, he was able to settle the airplane onto the runway. He taxied the airplane back to the hangar and noticed that the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the firewall and forward fuselage. The student pilot reported there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precludded normal operation.
The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted a hard, bounced landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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