- Date
- March 6, 2023, 15:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Tomball, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N101BMBeech E-55
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Houston FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230306001799A
- Case key
- 106881
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 inflight collision with a bird.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor reported that during an instructional flight, a large bird flew into the path of the airplane and his evasive actions were unsuccessful in avoiding the bird. The bird struck the airplane’s left wing. The flight instructor made an uneventful landing following the bird strike. The left-wing leading edge and main spar were substantially damaged during the bird strike. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N101BM
- Reported as
- Beech E-55
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TE-847
- Built
- 1971
- Airframe hours
- 4,732
- Engines
- Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES, 285 horsepower, reciprocatingCont Motor IO 520 SERIES, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Pour Le Martie Flying Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 10, 2022
- Departed
- KDWH · Spring, TX
- Destination
- KDWH · Spring, TX
- Airport
- DWH · David Wayne Hooks Meml, runway 17R, 7,009 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Military, Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 4, 2022
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 20,470 total · 148 in this make and model · 2,632 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 18
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 10, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KDWH, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KDWH 062053Z 25003KT 10SM SCT038 BKN050 27/18 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP147 T02720178 56026=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 12, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.