Incident Details
A student pilot was practicing ground maneuvers near Lake Disston, located near Pierson, Florida. While coming out of a left turn at an altitude of 1,000 feet and an indicated airspeed of 90 knots, the airplane experienced a bird strike. The flight instructor (CFI) stated that the windshield was missing after the strike. When he applied full throttle, he could not maintain altitude. He declared an emergency and subsequently secured the engine.
Emergency Landing
The CFI guided the airplane toward an intended landing field. The aircraft impacted the field nose first and came to a halt inverted. The source does not specify injuries or damage beyond the inverted position and missing windshield.
Bird Identification
A representative from the Smithsonian Institution identified the bird involved in the strike as a Black Vulture. The species has a weight range between 42 and 75 ounces.
Notes
The source does not provide details on the aircraft type, registration, operator, date, or number of occupants beyond the student pilot and CFI. No probable cause or contributing factors were stated.