Piper PA-28-181 N471A

Summary

On 6 July 2024 at about 17:14 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N471A, operated by ATP Flight School, was involved in an accident near Clearwater, Florida, 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

6 July 2024 at 17:14

Classification

Accident

Location

Clearwater, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

St Pete-Clearwater Intl (PIE)

Coordinates

27.8981, -82.6765

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N471A

Category

Airplane

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

ATP Flight School

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clearwater → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA295

Nobody was injured.

An in-flight collision with a bird while flying in the airport traffic pattern.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that after completing multiple uneventful touch-and-go landings they were on the downwind leg in the traffic pattern. While flying at an airspeed of about 90 kts and at 1,000 ft agl, he spotted a bird directly in front of the airplane. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and abruptly pushed the control stick to try and avoid the bird. The student pilot described seeing the bird also enter a dive before it struck the top of the windshield, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage above the windshield. The flight instructor declared an emergency and landed without further issue. Both pilots reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.