# Incident 20260430003859I: Piper PA-24-260, Concord, CA, April 30, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 30, 2026, 09:00 local time
- Place: Concord, CA
- Airport: Buchanan Field
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.9897° N, 122.0569° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BUCHANAN FLD (CCR), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.9897&lon=-122.0569&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9911L, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9911L) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-260 (registry code 7102406, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-24-260
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,644 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260430003859I

## Narrative

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

I WAS GIVEN CLEARANCE BY TOWER FOR A LE2 DOWNWIND DEPARTURE FROM RUNWAY 19R TO THE NORTHEAST. I WAS ON CLIMB-OUT AND HAD AN IMPACT TO THE FRONT OF THE AIRCRAFT, FOLLOWING WHICH, SOMETHING PASSED OVER THE COWLING AND THEN IMPACTED THE TOP OF THE CABIN WITH VERY LITTLE FORCE. I DID NOT SEE ANYTHING PRIOR TO IMPACT AND COULD NOT DISCERN WHAT PASSED IN FRONT OF ME FOR THE SECONDARY IMPACT. I ASSUMED IT WAS A BIRD. I WAS IN A FAIRLY STEEP ANGLE-OF-ATTACK, SAW NOTHING PRIOR TO IMPACT. AFTER IMPACT, I HAD NOT YET RAISED MY GEAR AND KEPT IT DOWN WHILE I RAN THROUGH SOME RPM AND

MANIFOLD PRESSURE CYCLES. I DISCERNED NO VIBRATIONS OR UNUSUAL NOISE SO CONTINUED MY FLIGHT. UPON LANDING, WHEN I REALIZED THE SPINNER WAS MISSING I CALLED CONCORD TOWER TO REPORT THE EVENT. THEY THEN RECOVERED THE PIECES OF THE SPINNER. ALL SCREWS FROM THE SPINNER TO BULKHEAD ARE SLL IN-PLACE. NOTE THAT I HAD GIVEN SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE SPINNER IN PRE-FLIGHT AS I HAD ONE LOOSE SCREW AND GHTENED IT BEFORE STARTUP.

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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