- Date
- January 2, 2025, 18:54 local (Jan 3, 2025, 00:54 UTC)
- Place
- Stringtown, MS · 5 N of arpt / 3000 ft
- Injuries
- 33 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N438SWBombardier CL-600-2B19
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20250102000019A
- Case key
- 199509
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
Bird strike.
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 captain reported that about 5 miles north of the destination airport, at 3,000 ft mean sea level, the flight encountered a flock of birds. Due to the night lighting condition, the flight crew did not see the birds until they struck the airplane. The impact caused the captain’s primary flight display (PFD) to become unusable. The first officer’s PFD and the standby instruments continued to operate normally. The engines were not affected, and the flight landed without further incident. There were no injuries to the passengers or crew. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the forward fuselage including a bulkhead, a frame, and the skin. Additional damage to the radome, right winglet, and vertical stabilizer was minor. Seven samples examined by the Smithsonian Feather Identification Lab were identified as being from Greater White-Fronted Geese.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N438SW
- Reported as
- Bombardier CL-600-2B19
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7574
- Built
- 2001
- Airframe hours
- 44,083
- Engines
- General Electric CF34-3B1, 9,200 lbs thrust, turbo fanGeneral Electric CF34-3B1, 9,200 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Corporate Flight Management Inc, doing business as Contour Airlines
- Registered owner
- Corporate Flight Management Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · June 24, 2024
- Departed
- DFW · Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX
- Destination
- GLH · Greenville, MS
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- GLH · Greenville MId-Delta, runway 18L, 8,001 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Data recorder, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot
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
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Waiver time limited special
- Last flight review
- August 23, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 21,267 total · 825 in this make and model · 14,092 as pilot in command · 92 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 14 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2024
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 920 total · 104 in this make and model · 686 as pilot in command · 104 in the last 90 days · 62 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 40° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.29 inHg
- Turbulence
- Light
- Observed at
- KGLH, 5 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KGLH 030053Z AUTO 04003KT 10SM CLR 06/04 A3029
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 21, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.2 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.