Incident Overview
A pilot flying a light twin-engine airplane experienced a hard landing after the aircraft dropped suddenly from an altitude of 3 to 5 feet during the flare. The pilot attributed the drop to a sudden downdraft. A witness observed the airplane descending abruptly before touchdown.
Sequence of Events
The airplane contacted the runway with the main landing gear first, immediately followed by the nose gear. After initial touchdown, the aircraft bounced twice, each time contacting the runway hard on the nose gear. The airplane remained on the ground after the second bounce.
Environmental Conditions
At the time of the incident, wind was reported at 5 knots, with a direction 60 degrees off the nose of the airplane. Two single-engine airplanes had landed ahead without difficulty, indicating no unusual wind conditions were reported by other pilots.
Pilot Experience
The pilot had accumulated approximately 230 hours of total flight time, including 78 hours in the accident airplane. The pilot had received a multi-engine rating the day before the incident.