NTSB ERA24LA065 — 2023-12-11 · Newport News, Virginia, United States

Current FAA registration · N733QJ

Make / Model: CESSNA 172N
Year of manufacture: 1976 · 47 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19770105
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9D797

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N733QJ Cessna 172 None

Probable cause & findings

An inflight collision with a bird during initial climb.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor and the pilot-rated student were in the flying in the airport traffic pattern practicing takeoffs and landings. During the initial climb following a touch-and-go landing, with the student at the controls, a large bird flew directly in front of the airplane. The student attempted to avoid it; however, the bird struck the leading edge of the left wing. The flight instructor took over the controls and landed the airplane uneventfully. An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration examined the airplane and found that the wing had been substantially damaged as a result of the birdstrike. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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_2023_ERA24LA065.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing). All research papers