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Atlas / NTSB / CEN25LA362

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN25LA362

2025-09-03 New Braunfels, Texas, United States Airport · BAZ None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N39HC

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 414

Engine

CONT MOTOR TSIO-520 SER (300 hp)

Seats / Engines

7 seats · 2 engines

Last airworthiness date

19731213

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A48122

Registrant of record

THERAPY AIR LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

A in-flight collision with a bird during the descent for landing.

Factual narrative

The airplane was about 4 miles from the destination airport in a descent to land when the airplane struck a bird. The pilot landed the airplane without incident and substantial damage was found to the right wing. Remains from the birds were submitted to the Smithsonian Institute and were found to belong to a black vulture (coragyps atratus). The average weight of a black vulture is reported to be between 3.5 and 6.6 lbs. Data archived by birdcast.info, showed bird activity at the time of the accident was between medium and high. In addition, data from usahas.com, the U.S. Air Force avian hazard advisory system, showed that the bird strike risk was severe near the collision area. 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).

  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Ability to respond/compensate
  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Effect on equipment

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN25LA362.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.