Cessna 402C accident near Cordova, Alaska, May 22, 2000
On May 22, 2000 at about 4:05 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N402ET, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cordova, Alaska (Cordova airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight collision with a bird.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 22, 2000 · about 4:05 pm local time
- Place
- Cordova, Alaska · Cordova · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N402ET · no longer on the register · serial 402C0054
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport certificated pilot was landing at the conclusion of a cargo flight. The visibility was about 2 miles in light rain and mist. When the airplane was about 50 feet above the ground at 100 knots, the pilot saw three Canada geese fly up from the runway area. One of the geese collided with the right windshield, breaking the plastic. The bird remained caught on pieces of the broken windshield. The pilot landed the airplane without any other difficulties. The windshield was penetrated, and required replacement.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,830 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 172 in the last 90 days; 53 in the last 30 days; 3,750 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,680 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 8, 2000; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,210 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Arctic Circle Air Service INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PANC Anchorage AK at 10:04 am
- Destination: PACV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 7,499 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 10 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N402ET the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.