Hard Landing During Obstacle Demonstration Damages Airplane Firewall

Incident Overview

A flight instructor was demonstrating the technique required to land an airplane over a 50-foot obstacle onto a short runway. The maneuver was conducted at 50 feet above the runway, with an airspeed of 60 knots and flaps deployed. The instructor reduced the throttle to idle and pitched the nose down to increase airspeed and flare the airplane prior to touchdown.

Event Sequence

Immediately after the engine power was reduced to idle, the airplane "sunk". The instructor responded by applying full throttle. However, the airplane was "too close to the ground", and the engine did not respond in time to prevent a hard landing. The hard landing resulted in substantial damage to the engine firewall.

Instructor's Report

The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.