- Date
- January 18, 2022, 13:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Angier, NC · Adjacent to Dollar General
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N254RMMiller Roger Thatcher CX4
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/ FSDO
- FAA report
- 20220118000759A
- Case key
- 104538
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 pilot’s encounter with a flock of birds on final approach, which resulted in a loss of control, an aerodynamic stall and spin, and impact with trees and terrain.
Findings · 3
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 following a local flight, on final approach to land, about ¼ mile from the runway, he glanced down at the airspeed indicator, and then glanced up and “all of a sudden” a flock of birds flew into the airplane. He stated it was “like a wall” or like a “machine gun” going off in his flight path. He reported that the birds collided with the airplane and after that point he “was a passenger”. He recalled the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and spin and subsequently descended and impacted trees and terrain. The fuselage and wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N254RM
- Reported as
- Miller Roger Thatcher CX4 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 398
- Built
- 2011
- Airframe hours
- 278
- Engine
- Hummel 2180, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 24, 2021
- Airport
- 78NC · Fuquay/Angier Fld, runway 14-32, 2,780 × 90 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- 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
- 78
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- August 2, 2020
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,057 total · 110 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- HRJ, 10 nm away
- METAR
- KHRJ 181835Z AUTO 31003KT 10SM CLR 10/M05 A3014 RMK AO2 T01001050
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 25, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.4 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.