Navion NAVION N384TL

Summary

On 20 January 2019 at about 19:45 local time, a Navion NAVION registered N384TL was involved in an accident near Patterson, Louisiana, 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

20 January 2019 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Patterson, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Harry P Williams Memorial (PTN)

Coordinates

29.7072, -91.2964

Aircraft

Navion NAVION

Registration

N384TL

Category

Airplane

Year built

1948

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gonzales → Patterson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA115

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from power lines while making an evasive maneuver to avoid birds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while on a 3-mile base leg, he encountered a flock of large birds. He aborted the base leg and rapidly descended the airplane to avoid the birds, but the birds followed. The pilot continued the dive and saw power lines nearby. He made an "evasive maneuver (dive down)" to avoid the power lines, but the vertical stabilizer struck the power lines, shearing off the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The pilot maintained airplane control, climbed the airplane, declared "mayday," and requested flight following to an airport without a crosswind for landing. He approached at a higher airspeed to reduce the airplane's left turning tendencies, and during the landing roll, the airplane veered left off the runway into an adjacent field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.