# Accident 20220118000759A: Miller Roger THATCHER CX4, Angier, NC, January 18, 2022

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 18, 2022, 13:38 local time
- Place: Angier, NC
- Airport: Fuquay Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.5392° N, 78.7458° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.5392&lon=-78.7458&mi=10
- Aircraft: N254RM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N254RM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Miller Roger THATCHER CX4 (registry code 05630QP, https://openairdocs.org/model/miller-roger-thatcher-cx4) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MILLER ROGER THATCHER CX4
- Reported engine: AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,057 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA22LA110](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22LA110) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220118000759A

## Narrative

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

PILOT STATED TO NTSB DURING A PHONE CALL ON 1/19/2022:

THE INDIVIDUAL NOTED ABOVE PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION VIA A TELEPHONE CALL. THE BELOW CONTENTS ARE A SUMMARY OF WHAT WAS REPORTED:

- ON FINAL APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE WAS STABILIZED, AND THE APPROACH SPEED WAS ABOUT 70 MPH, WHICH WAS ABOUT 10 MPH FASTER THAN NORMAL. HE PLANNED TO CARRY THE EXTRA SPEED BECAUSE OF A ?STRONG NORTH WIND.?

- ABOUT ¼ MILE FROM TOUCHDOWN, HE GLANCED DOWN AT THE AIRSPEED INDICATOR, AND THEN GLANCED UP AND ?ALL OF A SUDDEN? A FLOCK OF BIRDS FLEW INTO THE AIRPLANE. HE SAID IT WAS ?LIKE A WALL? OR LIKE A ?MACHINE GUN? GOING OFF IN HIS FLIGHT PATH. HE SAID THE BIRDS COLLIDED WITH THE AIRPLANE AND AFTER THAT POINT HE ?WAS A PASSENGER?. HE RECALLED THE AIRPLANE ENTERED AN AERODYNAMIC STALL AND SPIN AND SUBSEQUENTLY DESCENDED AND IMPACTED TREES AND TERRAIN.

- HE REPORTED THAT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE AT ANY POINT DURING THE FLIGHT.

- THE FLIGHT DEPARTED ANGIER, NC AIRPORT, WHICH WAS HIS HOME AIRPORT. IT WAS A LOCAL FLIGHT THE LASTED ABOUT ONE HOUR IN DURATION. HE HAD PRACTICED AIR WORK EARLIER IN THE FLIGHT.

- HE REPORTED HE SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES.

END OF CONVERSATION.

WITNESS STATEMENTS TAKEN ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT CONFIRMS THE BIRDS HITTING THE AIRCRAFT AND THE AIRCRAFT GOING INTO THE TREES AFTER THAT.  WITNESS STATED THAT THE PLANE WAS FLYING UPRIGHT BEFORE THE COLLISION AND THE PLANE LANDED UPRIGHT AFTER IT FELL TO THE GROUND AFTER IT WENT INTO THE TREES.

FOR THE FAA NINE RESPONSIBILITIES ALL "NO" WAS SELECTED DUE TO THE BIRDS BEING UNAVOIDABLE ON SHORT FINAL.

## 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 ERA22LA110](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22LA110), Jan 18, 2022: Miller Roger Thatcher CX4 (N254RM), Angier, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s encounter with a flock of birds on final approach, which resulted in a loss of control, an aerodynamic stall and spin, and impact with trees and terrain.

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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