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WPR21LA335

2021-09-03 · Salt Lake City, Utah, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SLC

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The airplane’s impact with birds during approach.

Factual narrative

The captain and co-pilot reported that, about 1 nm from the final approach fix and about 4,000 ft above the ground, the airplane shuddered. During this time the co-pilot heard multiple loud thuds and realized they had collided with a flock of birds. The flight crew did not detect any unusual flight characteristics for the remainder of the flight and landed without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the inboard leading edge of the left wing. The flight crew 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

FAA avdata. C = Cause, 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_WPR21LA335.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.