NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA21LA197
Registry · N36911
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 402C
Year of manufacture
1980 · 41 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR TSIO-520 SER (300 hp)
Seats / Engines
10 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
19800708
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A43050
Registrant of record
HYANNIS AIR SERVICE INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
An inadvertent collision with a bird during descent, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during descent, about 5nm from the destination airport, he saw a bird flying from his left to right side. The bird went into a dive and struck the vertical stabilizer. The pilot did not observe any flight anomalies and continued to the destination airport without incident. Subsequent examination revealed 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).
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Effect on equipment
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2021_ERA21LA197.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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