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ERA12CA218

2012-03-07 · Atlanta, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PDK

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

An in-flight collision with birds during cruise flight.

Factual narrative

The airplane was in cruise flight at 6,000 feet above ground level when the windscreen was shattered by birds. The birds hit the top center section of the windscreen and entered the cockpit. The pilot declared an emergency with Air Traffic Control and requested an IFR clearance back to his departure airport. The clearance was approved. The pilot was not injured and the airplane arrived at the departure airport without further incident. Examination of the airplane revealed the airplane sustained substantial damage. The vertical stabilizer received structural damage and had to be replaced. The airplane was in cruise flight at 6,000 feet mean sea level when birds hit the top center section of the windscreen, shattered it, and entered the cockpit. The pilot declared an emergency and requested an instrument flight rules clearance back to his departure airport. The clearance was approved, and the airplane arrived at the departure airport without further incident. Examination of the airplane revealed that the vertical stabilizer received substantial damage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Effect on equipment - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_ERA12CA218.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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