NTSB Factual Report

On January 7, 2001, about 1300 eastern standard time, a Maule MXT-7-180A, N40030, registered to B and D Aviation, Inc., operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, sustained a nose over while landing at a private airstrip in the vicinity of Perry, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane received substantial damage, and the student pilot sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from a private airstrip about 3 hours before the accident.

According to the student, he had flown almost 3 hours in the vicinity of his home field, including conducting practice touch-and-go landings, when he decided to visit a friend at another private field near Perry. The field was very rough and hilly, and on landing rollout, he hit a bump and became airborne. The aircraft stalled and on its second touchdown, fractured the nose wheel strut, buried the remaining strut stub, and caused a nose over.

According to an FAA Inspector, the student reported that he had conducted nine touch-and-go landings, and stated, "I had a good grasp of the airplane and was going to show it off at a friend's airstrip". The student stated on his landing, he bounced, touched down on the nose gear, sustained another bounce that deformed the wings and wing struts, and the third and final bounce resulted in the sheared nose strut and nose over.

NTSB Probable Cause

The loss of control on landing due to the student's improper recovery from a bounced landing, and the resulting nose over on the grass runway.