# Incident 20180227003169I: New Piper Aircraft Inc PA-44-180, St Cloud, FL, February 27, 2018

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 27, 2018, 13:15 local time
- Place: St Cloud, FL
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Pilot school (Part 141)
- Operator: ECQS
- Location: 28.2489° N, 81.2812° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of St. Cloud, FL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.2489&lon=-81.2812&mi=10
- Aircraft: N885FT, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N885FT) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: New Piper PA-44-180 (registry code 7104403, https://openairdocs.org/model/new-piper-pa-44-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-360-A1D (registry code 41504, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-360-a1d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA-44-180
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-360-A1D
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 3,950 total, 1,350 in this make and model, 134 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180227003169I

## Narrative

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

THE 141 FLIGHT SCHOOL REPORTED A "SIGNIFICANT BIRD STRIKE" ON THE UPPER NOSE CONE DURING A DUAL CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, AND PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING DETAILS: "IAS 160 KTS CRUISING AT 3,000 FEET 20 NM S OF ORL VOR. SCT 040. BIRD FLEW INTO NOSE, CFI ATTEMPTED TO CLIMB AWAY FROM BIRD. BIRD STRUCK UPPER RIGHT NOSE CONE."

THE SCHOOL DIRECTOR OF SAFETY (DOS) NOTED THAT A STANDARD FAA BIRD STRIKE REPORT FORM 5200-7 WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SUBMITTED TO THE FAA WILDLIFE STRIKE DATABASE ALONG WITH SOME BIRD REMAINS.

THE APPROXIMATE LOCATION OF THE BIRD STRIKE WAS DETERMINED TO BE NEAR CYPRESS LAKE JUST SOUTH OF ST. CLOUD, FL, RATHER THAN THE INITIAL REPORTED LOCATION OF 20 NM S OF ORL VOR, BASED ON ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL DOS.

SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT AT THE OPERATOR MX HANGAR REVEALED THAT THE ACFT DAMAGE WAS CONFINED TO THE FIBERGLASS NOSE CONE, 2 NOSE CONE SUPPORT BULKHEADS, AND FUSELAGE SKIN JUST AFT OF THE NOSE CONE AND FWD OF THE WINDSHIELD ON THE RT (CO-PILOT) SIDE.

## Other reports on N885FT (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20241209017709I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241209017709I), Dec 9, 2024: New Piper Aircraft Inc PA-44-180 (N885FT), Melbourne, FL, Minor damage. On December 9, 2024 at approximately 1130 EST, a 2006 Piper PA-44-180 departed lakeland-linder international airport (lal) for Melbourne-Orlando international…

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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