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The pilot of a C172 and his passenger were slightly injured when a bird strike caused the windscreen to shatter and pieces to penetrate into the cockpit. The pilot was able to maintain control and land at the planned destination airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1117541 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201309 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | CGS.Airport |
| State Reference | MD |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Route In Use | Direct Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Cockpit Window |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 9 Flight Crew Total 1292 Flight Crew Type 969 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness Inflight Event / Encounter Bird / Animal |
Narrative:
At 1;000 ft AGL a moderately large dark colored bird flew directly into our path; resulting in a bird strike. The strike shattered the windscreen; with most parts penetrating into the cockpit causing four or five minor cuts/scratches to the pilot and passenger. The aircraft remained flyable and controllable. The pilot chose to continue approach to [the planned airport] as it was the nearest approach and was already set up for landing on the active runway. The pilot then radioed a mayday on unicom; describing the bird strike; loss of windscreen; no injuries; and intent to continue the straight-in approach. The landing was hard due to loss of elevator authority; but within normal performance. We then taxied to tie-down and secured airplane. Preliminary post-flight inspection showed bird impact on propeller; complete destruction of windscreen and damage to the magnetic compass. There were no obvious remains of the bird in the aircraft. Apparent injuries were limited to 4-5 small cuts and scrapes not requiring medical attention. No medical attention was sought.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: The pilot of a C172 and his passenger were slightly injured when a bird strike caused the windscreen to shatter and pieces to penetrate into the cockpit. The pilot was able to maintain control and land at the planned destination airport.
Narrative: At 1;000 FT AGL a moderately large dark colored bird flew directly into our path; resulting in a bird strike. The strike shattered the windscreen; with most parts penetrating into the cockpit causing four or five minor cuts/scratches to the pilot and passenger. The aircraft remained flyable and controllable. The pilot chose to continue approach to [the planned airport] as it was the nearest approach and was already set up for landing on the active runway. The pilot then radioed a Mayday on UNICOM; describing the bird strike; loss of windscreen; no injuries; and intent to continue the straight-in approach. The landing was hard due to loss of elevator authority; but within normal performance. We then taxied to tie-down and secured airplane. Preliminary post-flight inspection showed bird impact on propeller; complete destruction of windscreen and damage to the magnetic compass. There were no obvious remains of the bird in the aircraft. Apparent injuries were limited to 4-5 small cuts and scrapes not requiring medical attention. No medical attention was sought.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.