On April 9, 1997, about 1433 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-34, N2HS, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, landed hard at Witham Field, Stuart, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Rock Hill, South Carolina, about 2 hours 48 minutes before the accident. The pilot stated he was landing with a gusting, quartering crosswind to runway 07. He maintained a higher approach speed to compensate for the gusts. The airplane touched down, bounced and collided with the runway on the nose gear Review of weather information for the time period of the accident revealed no recorded record of turbulence, downdrafts, gusts, or windshear.