Incident Overview
During a night flight, a pilot returning for landing was advised by personnel that some runway lights were inoperative and that car lights would be used to illuminate the runway. The pilot reported difficulty locating the airport. He aborted his first approach, stating that "it did not look right."
Second Approach and Hard Landing
On the second approach, the pilot stated, "Everything looked good, I flared, and then the plane suddenly hit the runway hard." After this hard touchdown, the pilot took off again and made another attempt.
Third Approach and Outcome
On the third attempt, the pilot made his approach and landed on the runway a good distance down the runway, then proceeded to direct the aircraft onto the grass.
Post-Incident Examination
An examination of the airplane by the FAA revealed buckling of the firewall.
Pilot Experience
The pilot had a total of 103 flight hours, with 7 hours in this model of aircraft. He had 4 hours of night flying experience. In the previous 90 days, he had flown 2 hours, and 1 hour in the last 30 days.