Pilot gets too close to tower. Pilot says there was a flock of geese he had to avoid.

Attributes
ACN	325086
Time
Date	199601
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : frg
State Reference	NY
Altitude	agl bound lower : 200 agl bound upper : 200
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : frg
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	other
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : cfi pilot : instrument pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 2060 flight time type : 900
ASRS Report	325086
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : local
Qualification	controller : non radar
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other other spatial deviation
Independent Detector	other flight crewa other other : unspecified
Resolutory Action	flight crew : took evasive action
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

ATC personnel on board. Mission: low pass over the runway to take pictures of the airport. Request granted by the tower with permission for left downwind departure to depart class D afterwards. As we were 1/3 down the runway at approximately 150 ft AGL, flock of canadian geese suddenly lifted off right ahead of us. I immediately initiated hard left descending turn to avoid hitting the geese. After 90 degrees I was set on a left crosswind. Normal climb and departure followed. During evasive maneuver, airplane came within 200-250 ft of the control tower. Tower personnel had no comments about the flight, but 2 FAA inspectors on their lunch break in the vicinity of the tower had some questions. Next time I'll make sure there are no birds near the flight path of the airplane, also low level passes leave very little room for error if something unexpectedly goes wrong.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PLT GETS TOO CLOSE TO TWR. PLT SAYS THERE WAS A FLOCK OF GEESE HE HAD TO AVOID.

Narrative: ATC PERSONNEL ON BOARD. MISSION: LOW PASS OVER THE RWY TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE ARPT. REQUEST GRANTED BY THE TWR WITH PERMISSION FOR L DOWNWIND DEP TO DEPART CLASS D AFTERWARDS. AS WE WERE 1/3 DOWN THE RWY AT APPROX 150 FT AGL, FLOCK OF CANADIAN GEESE SUDDENLY LIFTED OFF RIGHT AHEAD OF US. I IMMEDIATELY INITIATED HARD L DSNDING TURN TO AVOID HITTING THE GEESE. AFTER 90 DEGS I WAS SET ON A L XWIND. NORMAL CLB AND DEP FOLLOWED. DURING EVASIVE MANEUVER, AIRPLANE CAME WITHIN 200-250 FT OF THE CTL TWR. TWR PERSONNEL HAD NO COMMENTS ABOUT THE FLT, BUT 2 FAA INSPECTORS ON THEIR LUNCH BREAK IN THE VICINITY OF THE TWR HAD SOME QUESTIONS. NEXT TIME I'LL MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO BIRDS NEAR THE FLT PATH OF THE AIRPLANE, ALSO LOW LEVEL PASSES LEAVE VERY LITTLE ROOM FOR ERROR IF SOMETHING UNEXPECTEDLY GOES WRONG.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.