- Date
- December 3, 1988, 09:20 local (14:20 UTC)
- Place
- Greencastle, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5728ACessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881203054119A
- Case key
- 14229
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
Inflight collision with a large bird.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The acft was in cruise flight at 2,000 feet AGL when a large bird, presumed to have been a goose, appeared from above the acft and struck the right wing in the wing root area. No evasive action was taken due to the spontaneity of the event. The acft was landed without problems. Damage to wing leading edge and supporting structure was substantial.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5728A
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28328
- Airframe hours
- 2,577
- Engine
- Continental O-300-B, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John M Sloan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 5, 1988 · 72 hours before
- Departed
- I14 · Patoka, IN
- Destination
- IN30 · Indianapolis, IN
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 225 total · 135 in this make and model · 175 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 45° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 34 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.