Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Phoenix, Arizona 85034
Monday, November 2, 2009 8:50 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight crew reported that during climb to cruise they heard a loud bang, followed by a "pop" in the pressurization and loud noise within the cockpit. The first officer stated that prior to the loud bang he observed "several black dots" directly in front of him. The flight crew declared an emergency and diverted to their departure airport, where they landed uneventfully. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed an approximately 18 inch by 21 inch tear in fuselage skin located aft of the right side flight deck eyebrow window and structural damage to the upper portion of the fuselage. Bird residue and feathers were observed near the torn area of fuselage skin. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Feather Identification Laboratory performed DNA analysis, microscopic examination, and whole feather comparisons with museum study skins on the recovered residue and feathers. The analysis identified the residue and feathers as the remains of a Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis). The weight range for the species complex is recorded from 906 to 1,429 grams, with an average weight of 3.3 pounds.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
An in-flight collision with birds.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/2/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 850 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Phoenix |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85034 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 332603N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1120041W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 851 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 30 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PHX |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1135 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 23 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.11 |
| 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 | 70 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26431 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Delta Airlines Inc. |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 11 2009 7:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N909DA |
| NTSB Number | WPR10LA044 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | MCDONNELL DOUGLAS |
| Aircraft Model | MD-90-30 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 53389 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 161000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 3 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 5 |
| Passenger Seats | 150 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 158 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 31 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 38842 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DELTA AIR LINES INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1775 AVIATION BLVD DEPT 595 |
| Aircraft Owner City | ATLANTA |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30320 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | DELTA AIR LINES INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1775 AVIATION BLVD DEPT 595 |
| Operator City | ATLANTA |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 30320 |
| Operator Code | DALA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PHX |
| Departure City | Phoenix |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 841 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SLC |
| Destination City | Salt Lake City |
| Destination State | UT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 11 2009 7:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |