NTSB Factual Report

On July 20, 2008, at 0745 Pacific daylight time, a Special - Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) Aero SP Z O O AT-4, N706GB, landed hard and porpoised down runway 23, collapsing the nose landing gear, at Hemet-Ryan Airport, Hemet, California. Hemet Flight Center, LLC, operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, as an instructional flight. The LSA student, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane sustained structural damage to the firewall during the landing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight in the traffic pattern, and no flight plan had been filed.

According to the student pilot, he had made two uneventful landings prior to the accident landing. On the accident landing he reduced the power to idle, added 15 degrees of flaps, and noted an airspeed of 60 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). He stated that he had to increase the engine revolutions per minute (rpm) as the headwind was stronger than he had originally anticipated. However, he reduced the engine rpm's to idle before "descending onto the runway."

The pilot reported an airspeed of 45-40 KIAS, as he leveled the airplane, and eased the control stick back "for a stall." He reported that the airplane seemed to "run out of air and dropped." The airplane bounced twice. On the second bounce, the airplane bounced "unexpectedly high," and turned a few degrees to the left. After the second bounce the airplane had turned slightly and was now at an angle to the runway. As it touched down again, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane skidded towards the left of the runway and came to rest upright. The pilot further reported that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause

The student pilot's improper landing flare and inadequate recovery from a bounced landing.