NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN24LA035
Registry · N5875G
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV-14A
Year of manufacture
2023 · 0 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING YIO-390 SER (210 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20230802
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A792F7
Registrant of record
GRASSMAN TIMOTHY B
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The bird strike to the airplane’s vertical stabilizer during an approach for landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the personal flight stated that during a two mile final for landing at the destination airport, he encountered a group of four large birds. He pitched the airplane down to avoid striking one of the birds, but he did not have time to avoid them. The airplane struck one of the birds at an airspeed of 105 kts and at an altitude of 880 ft mean sea level. The bird, identified as a black vulture, remained draped around the vertical stabilizer, and there was some loss of stability about the vertical axis. The pilot still had positive control of the airplane, and he declared an emergency landing without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft structures-Empennage structure-Vertical stabilizer-Damaged/degraded
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2023_CEN24LA035.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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