# Accident 20090605857199A: Cessna 550, Sellersburg, IN, June 5, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 5, 2009, 16:30 local time
- Place: Sellersburg, IN
- Airport: Clark Regional
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.3514° N, 85.7339° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.3514&lon=-85.7339&mi=10
- Aircraft: N73HH (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 550
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN09CA418](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09CA418) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090605857199A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

THE PILOT STATED THAT A LARGE BIRD STRUCK THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE ON ITS INITIAL CLIMB. PILOT HAD JUST RAISED LANDING GEAR AND ESTIMATED THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLIMBING AT ABOUT 180 KNOTS. THE FLIGHT WAS ABOUT 1 MILE NORTH OF THE AIRPORT, 1,000 FEET AGL AT THE TIME OF THE BIRD STRIKE. THE PILOT ELECTED TO CONTINUE THE APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTE FLIGHT TO THE INTENDED DESTINATION, AND THE FLIGHT WAS COMPLETED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE VMC AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. A POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION REVEALED IMPACT DAMAGE TO THE NOSECONE AND UNDERLYING FRAME SUPPORT STRUCTURE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CEN09CA418](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09CA418), Jun 5, 2009: Cessna 550 (N73HH), Sellersburg, IN, substantial damage. Probable cause: An in-flight collision with a large bird during the airplane's initial climb.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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