- Date
- September 27, 2024, 20:14 UTC
- Place
- Eden Prairie, MN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N62VMPiper PA-46-310P
- 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
- Federal Aviation Administration, Minneapolis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20240927014829A
- Case key
- 195217
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
The bird strike during cruise flight that resulted in substantial damage to the airplane.
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 pilot of the personal flight reported that he was enroute to his destination airport when he began a 500 fpm rate descent to 3,000 ft msl. While descending through 4,100 ft msl, a bald eagle, that was above the airplane’s flight path descended at about a 40o angle and struck the airplane’s left wing. The airplane continued to without any appreciable change to its performance and the pilot continued to the destination airport. For the approach, the pilot extended the landing gear, extended the wing flaps to 10o, and slowed the airplane to 105-110 kts for level flight at 3,000 ft msl. On final approach, the pilot flew the airplane at 85-90 kts and landed uneventfully with 30o of wing flaps. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N62VM
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46-310P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46-8608008
- Built
- 1986
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-BE, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ENW · Kenosha, WI
- Destination
- FCM · Eden Prarie, WI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- FCM
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 7, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 716 total · 68 in this make and model · 635 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 19, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 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.