N3613Q

On April 13, 1996, at 1630 eastern daylight time (edt), a Beech A-23A, N3613Q, piloted by a student pilot, was substantially damaged during a hard landing. The 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed Frankemuth, Michigan, at 1600 edt.

During an interview with the pilot he said he landed the airplane on all 3 tires. He said the landing didn't seem hard but the airplane bounced into the air upon touchdown. He said the nose gear broke off the airplane after the second touchdown. He said the second touch down wasn't as hard as the first one. According to the pilot, he has made landings in the past that were harder than the one leading to the accident.

The pilot was asked how he would recover from a bounced landing. He said he would add full power and apply up elevator pressure on the yoke so the airplane wouldn't hit the runway again. He was asked if he took this action on the accident landing. He said he did not because the landings didn't seem to be too hard.