AAIB investigation to Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk, G-BPIK
Student bounced landing, Carlisle, 15 July 2014.
Summary:
The student pilot had returned to Carlisle from Newcastle Airport. The flight was intended to be the qualifying cross-country navigation which he required for his Private Pilot’s Licence. The weather conditions were good and the approach to the runway was described as normal but during the landing the student left the flare too late and the aircraft bounced back up into the air. He tried to control the bounce, but on the second, firmer landing, the nose landing gear collapsed. The aircraft then veered off the runway and came to rest on the grass. The student, who was uninjured, shut down the aircraft and vacated it normally.
The student and his instructor agreed that after the initial bounce, initiating a go-around would have been a safer course of action.
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