Renton Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Renton, Washington 98055
Tuesady, April 24, 2001 9:43 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot-in-command, accompanied by a check pilot flight instructor, was on final approach to land on runway 15 in the Cessna 172S when two Canada geese came into the pilots field of view, flying from right to left. The aircraft was descending through 50 feet AGL and the geese were initially shielded from the pilots' view by the aircraft until they were past the nose. The pilot elected to not take any evasive action, but rather be prepared to control the airplane in the case of a collision. The pilot heard and felt a 'thump,' but did not experience any difficulty in controlling the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A Canadian goose which crossed the aircraft's flight path and impacted the left wing during the aircraft's final approach.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/24/2001
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 943
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Renton
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98055
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Renton Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RNT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 32
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID RNT
Elevation of weather observation facility 32
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.26
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10966
NTSB Notification Source FAA FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Apr 25 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1301
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 6 2001 9:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Renton FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N435SP
NTSB Number SEA01LA077
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S8304
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 7 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 197
Airframe Hours 655
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Erik G. Lawyer
Aircraft Owner Street Address 9430 45th Avenue, SW
Aircraft Owner City Seattle
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98136
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Boeing Employees Flying Association
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 840 West Perimeter Road
Operator City Renton
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98055
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code RNT
Departure City Renton
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 940
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 18 2001 12:12PM
User who most recently changed record RANS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 5379
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --