- Date
- June 22, 2015, 12:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Upperville, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5210ACessna 172
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Birdstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 17, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- Case key
- 91889
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
An inflight bird strike, which resulted in wing spar damage.
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
According to the student pilot, while flying en route to his home airport, the airplane sustained a bird strike to the right wing. The student pilot reported that he checked the flight controls and engine performance, and made the decision to continue the flight to his destination. He reported that during the approach he noticed that it took an abnormal amount of left aileron to maintain level flight; however, he landed the airplane without further incident. A subsequent examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to flight that would have prevented normal operation.
Factual narrative
According to the student pilot, while flying en route to his home airport, the airplane sustained a bird strike to the right wing. The student pilot reported that he checked the flight controls and engine performance, and made the decision to continue the flight to his destination. He reported that during the approach he noticed that it took an abnormal amount of left aileron to maintain level flight; however, he landed the airplane without further incident. A subsequent examination of the airplane revealed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing spar. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to flight that would have prevented normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5210A
- Reported as
- Cessna 172 (S)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S9118
- Built
- 2002
- Airframe hours
- 4,773
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Aviation Adventures
- Registered owner
- Topper Enterprises LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 12, 2015 · 58 hours before
- Departed
- KSHD · Weyers Cave, VA
- Destination
- KJYO · Leesburg, VA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 51.7 total · 37 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 19.3 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 9 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KJYO, 16 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 10, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 763 KB in all.
Other investigations on N5210A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.