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Atlas / NTSB / GAA19CA557

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event GAA19CA557

2019-08-23 Fort Myers, Florida, United States Airport · FL59 None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N9422S

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

BEECH V35

Year of manufacture

1965 · 54 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)

Seats / Engines

6 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19651209

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AD1745

Registrant of record

WINDWALKER ADVENTURES LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The airplane’s impact with a bird during approach.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during the downwind leg of an approach, about 1,000 ft above the ground, a bird struck the airplane's propeller and cowling. The pilot was able to maneuver and land the airplane without further incident. A post-accident examination revealed bird feathers in engine compartment. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and forward fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, during the downwind leg of the approach and as the airplane was about 1,000 ft above ground level, a bird struck the propeller and cowling. The pilot was able to land the airplane without further incident. Postaccident examination revealed bird feathers in the engine compartment. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and forward fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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).

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2019_GAA19CA557.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type. Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗