February 1, 2005, Berrien Springs, Mich. / Cessna 172RG

Neither the Private pilot receiving instruction nor his CFI were injured during a hard landing at about 0850 Eastern time. The airplane sustained substantial damage, following a simulated loss of engine power during takeoff and subsequent emergency landing after takeoff. The pilots accident report stated, in part: I taxied onto the runway, aligned the aircraft with the center line … as airspeed increased with our ground roll, I rotated the aircraft at 60 KIAS. To simulate an engine failure, the CFI reduced the throttle. I lowered the nose [and attempted] to flare the aircraft before contact with the runway. Subsequently, a hard landing was made, and the aircraft stopped.