Watts-Woodland Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Woodland, California 95695
Friday, July 20, 2007 11:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane nosed over during a forced landing in a plowed field following a bird strike to the windshield. While on the downwind leg for landing, a bird struck the passenger side portion of the airplane's windshield. The windshield fragmented and collapsed inward, injuring the flight instructor. The student pilot was not able to maintain the airplane's airspeed or altitude due to the increased drag caused by the missing windshield, so the instructor took over the controls. The instructor's vision was impaired due to blood in his eyes, and he applied full power and turned the airplane towards the runway threshold; however, the airplane was unable to maintain altitude. The instructor made a forced landing in a tomato field perpendicular to the furrows and the airplane nosed over. The remains of a large hawk were found in the back of the cockpit.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An in-flight collision with a bird. A factor in the accident was the deteriorated aircraft performance capability due to the increased drag that made continued flight impossible.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/20/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Woodland
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95695
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 384026N
Event Location Longitude 1215219W
Event Location Airport WATTS-WOODLAND
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O41
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 125
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID SAC
Elevation of weather observation facility 24
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
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) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22238
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 31 2007 7:09AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Sacramento

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N531M
NTSB Number LAX07CA224
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 150M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15077673
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 44
Airframe Hours 7474
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Atkin Air LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1420 Flightline Drive, Suite B
Aircraft Owner City Lincoln
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95648
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
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 O41
Departure City Woodland
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code O41
Destination City Woodland
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - downwind
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 29 2007 5:54PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 3770
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --