- Date
- September 3, 2025, 10:44 local (15:44 UTC)
- Place
- New Braunfels, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N39HCCessna 414
- Defining event
- Approach: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 17, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250903012449A
- Case key
- 200938
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
A in-flight collision with a bird during the descent for landing.
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 airplane was about 4 miles from the destination airport in a descent to land when the airplane struck a bird. The pilot landed the airplane without incident and substantial damage was found to the right wing. Remains from the birds were submitted to the Smithsonian Institute and were found to belong to a black vulture (coragyps atratus). The average weight of a black vulture is reported to be between 3.5 and 6.6 lbs. Data archived by birdcast.info, showed bird activity at the time of the accident was between medium and high. In addition, data from usahas.com, the U.S. Air Force avian hazard advisory system, showed that the bird strike risk was severe near the collision area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N39HC
- Reported as
- Cessna 414
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 414-0469
- Built
- 1973
- Engines
- Continental 520-J, 310 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental 520-J, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Therapy Air LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 16, 2025 · 5,624 hours before
- Departed
- 5C1 · San Antonio, TX
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- BAZ, runway 31, 6,503 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 59
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 24, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,600 total · 200 in this make and model · 75 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.99 inHg
- Observed at
- KBAZ, 4 nm away
- METAR
- KBAZ 031551Z VRB05KT 10SM FEW100 32/21 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP144 T03220211
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 17, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.1 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.