NTSB Factual Report

On January 10, 2006, at 1300 eastern standard time, a Univar Ercoupe 415-C, N99811, owned and operated by a student pilot, received substantial damage when it bounced hard on the nosewheel and departed the runway and impacted terrain at Livingston County Spencer J. Hardy Airport, Howell, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 student solo flight was not operating on a flight plan. The student pilot was uninjured. The local flight originated at 1200.

The pilot stated that he was practicing takeoffs and landings when the airplane bounced during the fourth landing attempt. The pilot lowered the nose wheel down onto the runway to maintain directional control; however, the airplane continued to bounce on the nose wheel. The nose landing gear strut collapsed, and the airplane veered off the runway impacting a ditch. He stated that the damage to the airplane was minor and the engine was disassembled and inspected due to a sudden stoppage when the propeller struck the ground.

A post accident maintenance logbook entry indicates that the firewall was buckled and had to be repaired and the lower fuselage skins were damaged and had to be repaired.

The accident was not reported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and was discovered during the investigation of the pilot's third accident, which was investigated under NTSB accident number CEN09LA291. The maintenance personnel who performed the repair stated that they didn't think the damage was bad enough to report the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause

The student pilot's improper landing flare and lack of total experience.