20260417002589I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Cessna 172S · Madisonville, TX · April 17, 2026

Date
April 17, 2026 · 07:15 local
Place
Madisonville, TX
Airport
Madisonville Municipal
Phase of flight
Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules
Pilot school (Part 141)
Operator
9CFS
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N354CT
Reported as
Cessna 172S
Reported engine
Lycoming IO-360-L2A
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours
762 total

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Aircraft departed cll travelling to 51R with student pilot at controls, and instructor in right seat. Upon arrival at 51R, pilot was landing and in ground effect before touchdown when they sighted a large bird heading directly towards them on the runway. The bird (vulture or turkey buzzard) had emerged from the nearby wooded area. The CFI instructed the student pilot to initiate a "go-around" to avoid the bird. Upon climb-out, the bird ascended upwards to match the aircrafts climb and struck the right-hand wing leading edge approximately two feet outboard from the wing strut. Pilot and instructor were able to complete go-around and safely landed back at the airport.

As the FAA filed it

AIRCRAFT DEPARTED CLL TRAVELLING TO 51R WITH STUDENT PILOT AT CONTROLS, AND INSTRUCTOR IN RIGHT SEAT. UPON ARRIVAL AT 51R, PILOT WAS LANDING AND IN GROUND EFFECT BEFORE TOUCHDOWN WHEN THEY SIGHTED A LARGE BIRD HEADING DIRECTLY TOWARDS THEM ON THE RUNWAY. THE BIRD (VULTURE OR TURKEY BUZZARD) HAD EMERGED FROM THE NEARBY WOODED AREA. THE CFI INSTRUCTED THE STUDENT PILOT TO INITIATE A "GO-AROUND" TO AVOID THE BIRD. UPON CLIMB-OUT, THE BIRD ASCENDED UPWARDS TO MATCH THE AIRCRAFTS CLIMB AND STRUCK THE RIGHT-HAND WING LEADING EDGE APPROXIMATELY TWO FEET OUTBOARD FROM THE WING STRUT. PILOT AND INSTRUCTOR WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE GO-AROUND AND SAFELY LANDED BACK AT THE AIRPORT.