- Date
- November 26, 2023, 16:40 local (22:40 UTC)
- Place
- Council Bluffs, IA
- Injuries
- 9 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N475CWCessna 560XL
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: 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-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20231126018259A
- Case key
- 193463
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 during decent.
Findings · 2
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 pilot reported that while descending through a cloud layer, a crewmember saw a flock of birds and alerted the pilot. The pilot reported that he disconnected the autopilot and attempted to avoid the birds. The birds impacted the airplane which resulted in substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer. The crew made an uneventful landing following the bird strike
Aircraft
- Registration
- N475CW
- Reported as
- Cessna 560XL
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 560-5080
- Built
- 2000
- Airframe hours
- 5,729.9
- Engines
- P&W Canada PW545A, 3,804 lbs thrust, turbo fanP&W Canada PW545A, 3,804 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Ultra Air, LLC, doing business as Four Corners Aviation
- Registered owner
- D White Holdings LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · September 15, 2023
- Departed
- SRQ · Sarasota, FL
- Destination
- OMA · Omaha, NE
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Data recorder, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, Stall warning system
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
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 7, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 5,018 total · 724 in this make and model · 4,102 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 25, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 3,040 total · 27 in this make and model · 2,365 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 12 knots
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- KOMA, 9 nm away
- METAR
- KOMA 262252Z 33012KT 10SM FEW044 00/M06 A3009 RMK AO2 PK WND 32027/2229 SLP202 T00001061=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 29, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.3 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.