On October 3, 2001, at 0900 central daylight time, a Cessna A185F floatplane, N727, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, Houma, Louisiana. The airplane was registered to the U.S. Department of the Interior and was operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. The flight departed Lafayette, Louisiana, at 0800. According to a representative from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the pilot was landing on runway 18 at Houma, when he flared too high and made a hard landing. The representative stated that one of the fuselage bulkheads sustained structural damage.