Geese on final

I was flying a Thatcher CX-4 homebuilt aircraft. The Thatcher is a low-wing, single-seat aircraft. It has pushrod-actuated ailerons and is light on the controls. It is a delight to fly and has no unsafe characteristics. It is easy to keep the ball centered on all maneuvers.

The stall characteristics are very forgiving. If one just releases back-pressure on the stick, the aircraft quickly recovers from a stall and begins flying. As the aircraft stalls at 45 mph, I normally fly my final approaches at 60 mph.

The landing gear used was produced for another homebuilt and as such is slightly too short, preventing a full-stall landing. This, combined with no flaps and a streamlined aircraft, makes for an airplane that, for any excess of speed, likes to float, so good airspeed control is important on approach to landing.

January 18, 2022, started out as a perfectly normal day. For mid-January, the weather was nice with clear skies and cool temperatures. After takeoff, I found a power line below and began flying S turns above it for practice. Then, I climbed and did stalls, followed by some lazy eights and a touch-and-go landing at another airport. Flying over a friend’s house, I waggled my wings before leaving. It was a perfect day for flying and I was enjoying every minute of it.

After doing some turns around a silo to refresh my skills, I headed back to my home airport. The wind had picked up and was about 10 miles per hour from the north.

All was normal in the pattern and the runway was clear; there were no other aircraft around. When I turned final, I made my approach at 70 miles an hour instead of the normal 60 because of the strong wind. I established a stabilized approach after my turn to final.

I was about 10 seconds from touchdown when I heard a large thump on the side of the aircraft. To my astonishment I saw a Canada goose frantically flapping its wings. This was followed by many more thumps. It was almost like being hit by a machine gun.

After a few seconds, the aircraft felt like it had flown into a brick wall. The left wing dropped, and I was headed straight down in a classic stall/spin attitude. At this point I realized that I was just a passenger, and the aircraft was going where it wanted. The aircraft nose was pointed straight down and speed was rapidly increasing. I remember thinking, This is going to hurt.

Before the aircraft could strike the ground, the left wing hit a tree, which dissipated almost all the downward motion and pulled the aircraft level before allowing it to fall 20 or 30 feet to the ground. I remember thinking, well, that was not too bad, as the airplane dropped from the tree.

The airplane fell flat into a small grass area behind a retail store facing the approach path where I had been a few seconds before. I felt a pain in my back as everything settled but otherwise felt OK. After a few seconds, I realized that the engine was not running so I reached up and switched off the ignition. I then switched off the master switch.

By then, there was a woman outside the aircraft asking if I needed help getting out. I looked up at the canopy, which was almost clear of plexiglass. Pulling the empty canopy frame open, with her help, I exited the aircraft, realizing that it was important to get clear in case of fire.

By now, there were firefighters, police officers, and EMTs everywhere. The woman who had assisted me was an EMT who worked in the retail store and saw the whole thing.

I had flown from and into this airport for 30 years and never had an issue with birds. I had done the normal visual observations on approach but had not spotted the birds approaching from my left.

The approach was over trees with a water tower to the left and other visual obstructions. I had seen nothing until I heard the thump.

My suggestions are to look for birds on your approach and if in doubt, take whatever action necessary to avoid them.

I know that I was extremely lucky to survive this accident. This was written not to scare or cause concern but to once again point out to be aware of your surroundings and things that could impact your flight. Rodney Whipple is a private pilot with more than 2,000 hours based in Angier, North Carolina.