N52188

On April 25, 1998, at 1715 central daylight time, a Cessna 172P airplane, N52188, was substantially damaged during a hard landing near La Porte, Texas. The non-instrument rated private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated by Harvey & Rihn Aviation Inc., of La Porte, Texas, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The local flight originated from the La Porte Municipal Airport, approximately 35 minutes prior to the accident.

The operator stated that the private pilot rented the airplane for the purpose of maintaining his flying proficiency. The pilot and his passenger planned on staying in the closed traffic pattern to perform touch and go landings. The pilot reported to the operator that he had completed four touch and go landings on runway 12 without incident. The pilot added that on the fifth landing, which he intended to be a full stop landing, "he flared too high and the airplane bounced following a firm landing."

The 245 hour pilot added that during the recovery from the bounced landing, the airplane porpoised twice and touched down hard on the nose landing gear resulting in a blown nose gear tire. Suspecting damage to the nose landing gear, the pilot stated that he added power to abort the landing and came back for another attempt. The pilot successfully used the soft field landing technique on his subsequent landing.

Examination of the airframe by the operator's maintenance personnel revealed that the lower portion of the bulkhead for the engine firewall sustained structural damage, the left lower portion of the windshield was broken, and the nose landing gear tire was flat.

The passenger, who is also a private pilot, reported to the operator that at the time of the accident, he estimated that the winds were from 140 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots.