Cessna 402C accident near Naples, Florida, June 30, 2000
On June 30, 2000 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N7037E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Naples, Florida (Naples Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an inflight collision with a bird during descent that resulted in substantial damage to the airplane's vertical stabilizer spar.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 30, 2000 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Naples, Florida · Naples Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N7037E · registry record · serial 402C-0471
- 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 pilot stated that he had the airport in sight, and was at 2,000 feet, descending to land, when he heard a loud noise, and felt the airplane shudder. He said that the aircraft controls were not affected, so he continued the descent, and made an uneventful landing. After securing the aircraft, the pilot noted that a large turkey buzzard had impacted the vertical stabilizer. A licensed aviation mechanic who examined the aircraft stated that the vertical spar had been bent as a result of the impact.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 8,000 in this make and model; 294 in the last 90 days; 99 in the last 30 days; 14,000 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 18,396 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 27, 2000; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,210 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO520VB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EYW Key West FL at 4:15 pm
- Destination: APF
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 2,300 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:46 pm from APF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N7037E 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.