Piper PA-28-161 N526PU

Summary

On 13 September 2013 at about 20:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-161 registered N526PU, operated by Thunderbird Aviation, was involved in an accident near Princeton, Minnesota, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 September 2013 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Princeton, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Princeton Municipal Airport (PNM)

Coordinates

45.5600, -93.6083

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-161

Registration

N526PU

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Thunderbird Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Crystal → Crystal

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13CA550

Nobody was injured.

An in-flight collision with a bald eagle.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that the student pilot was flying S-turns over a road at 1,000 feet above ground level when a bald eagle struck the right horizontal stabilizer. The flight instructor took the controls, declared an emergency, and proceeded to land at the nearest airport. The control yoke was “buffeting,” but the engine continued to run smoothly.  On final approach, the flight instructor noticed that the rudder controls were impaired; however, the wind was calm so the landing was without incident. The examination of the airplane revealed that there was a large indentation on the right horizontal stabilizer with bird feathers embedded in it. The right side of the horizontal stabilizer was canted. In addition, the tail cone had been pushed upward and was in contact with the rudder, impeding its movement. 

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.