Incident
A flight instructor was providing instruction during a public-use flight in a single-engine airplane. The pilot receiving instruction was an airline transport pilot who held a rating only for multi-engine airplanes. According to the instructor, the pilot flying was "fast" on final approach. During the landing flare, the airplane ballooned and bounced once. After the bounce, the flight instructor applied aft flight control pressure because he believed the airplane was going to touch down nose wheel first. The subsequent landing roll was completed without further incident.
Post-Flight Inspection
After loading additional passengers, the flight instructor completed the return flight to their domicile without further incident. During a post-flight inspection, damage was found to the tail hook and aft fuselage area. Further inspection revealed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the aft bulkhead. The instructor reported that he did not hear the tail strike during the bounced landing and did not inspect the empennage before departing for the terminating destination.
Instructor Report
The flight instructor reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The damage was likely the result of a tail strike during the bounced landing on the previous flight.