Summary
On October 26, 2013, a Beech V35B (N328HR) was involved in an incident near Palm Coast, FL. All 3 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: An inadvertent collision with a black vulture.
According to the pilot, the airplane was at 1,000 feet, airspeed about 100 knots, and he was following tower instructions to enter a right downwind for the runway. Approaching the downwind leg, he saw a large black bird and commented to his passengers that they had to keep an eye on it in case they needed to maneuver. The pilot continued toward the airport, looking for traffic and birds, and within a few seconds the airplane was very close to the bird. The pilot descended the airplane to where he thought it would pass overhead, but the bird then dove at the last second and the pilot heard a "thud" on the cabin roof. There were no other indications of impact, and the pilot continued a "normal" right base, a right turn to final, and landing.
This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA14CA032. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N328HR.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
An inadvertent collision with a black vulture.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
According to the pilot, the airplane was at 1,000 feet, airspeed about 100 knots, and he was following tower instructions to enter a right downwind for the runway. Approaching the downwind leg, he saw a large black bird and commented to his passengers that they had to keep an eye on it in case they needed to maneuver. The pilot continued toward the airport, looking for traffic and birds, and within a few seconds the airplane was very close to the bird. The pilot descended the airplane to where he thought it would pass overhead, but the bird then dove at the last second and the pilot heard a "thud" on the cabin roof. There were no other indications of impact, and the pilot continued a "normal" right base, a right turn to final, and landing. Once back at his hangar, the pilot noticed the substantial damage to the left ruddervator. A feather retrieved from the ruddervator impact site was examined "whole feather" and microscopically, and was determined to be from a black vulture (coragyps atratus) with an average weight about 4.7 pounds.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ERA14CA032