- Date
- October 11, 1999, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Soldotna, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N74923Piper PA-31
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19991011046669A
- Case key
- 47681
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
An in-flight collision with a bird.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that while in cruise at 2,500 feet above sea level (msl), he felt the airplane shudder. He noticed blood on the tip of the right horizontal stabilizer, and realized the airplane had struck a bird which he had not seen. The pilot indicated the airplane did not require any trim changes after the impact. The pilot returned the airplane to Anchorage. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the airplane's right horizontal stabilizer, requiring replacement of the stabilizer assembly.
Factual narrative
On October 11, 1999, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-31 airplane, N74923, sustained substantial damage when it struck a bird during cruise over Skilak Lake, Alaska, about 15 miles east of Soldotna, Alaska, at 60 degrees 27 minutes north latitude, 150 degrees 29 minutes west longitude. The solo airline transport pilot was not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 135 as scheduled commuter Flight 13. The flight departed the Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, about 1300 for Seward, Alaska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a company VFR flight plan was filed.
During a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 12, the pilot stated that while in cruise at 2,500 feet above sea level (msl), the airplane shuddered. He noticed blood on the end of the right horizontal stabilizer, and realized the airplane had struck a bird which he had not seen. He said the airplane did not require any trim changes after the impact. The pilot returned the airplane to Anchorage. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the airplane's right horizontal stabilizer, requiring replacement of the stabilizer assembly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74923
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-7305066
- Airframe hours
- 12,304
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Fs Air Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · October 2, 1999 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- ANC · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- SWD · Seward, AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 37
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,213 total · 114 in this make and model · 2,149 as pilot in command · 134 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.