What happened
On November 11, 2009, at approximately 14:33 local time, a SOCATA TB-20 aircraft, registration EC-HRK, was conducting a private VFR flight from Zaragoza Airport to Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport. While cruising at 3,500 ft over the El Pardo reservoir area, the aircraft suffered a collision with a large bird.
The impact occurred when an adult male black vulture struck the vertical stabilizer, becoming lodged between the stabilizer and the rudder. Immediately following the strike, the pilot verified that the aircraft remained controllable and declared an emergency. The aircraft continued to its destination, landing safely at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos at 14:43. Due to the emergency declaration, the airport was temporarily closed to all traffic.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the structural damage and the nature of the bird strike. Post-flight inspections revealed significant damage to the vertical stabilizer, which had been displaced to the right, and the rudder, which became jammed against the airframe. However, the elevator was found to be moving freely.
Authorities recovered the bird from the tail section. A necropsy performed by a specialized bird recovery association confirmed the specimen was an adult male black vulture (*Aegypius monachus*), showing multiple fractures and hematomas. The investigation also reviewed aeronautical charts, noting that while bird concentration areas were marked further southwest, the specific location of the impact was not identified as a high-density area for raptors in the AENA aeronautical information publication.
Findings
- The collision was an isolated event; the frequency of black vultures flying in that specific area is low (less than 40%), and the impact altitude was lower than the species' typical flight pattern.
- The pilot followed all standard procedures by communicating with the nearest control tower and the destination airport immediately after the event.
- The pilot's decision to proceed to the destination airport rather than attempting an immediate landing in a nearby field was deemed appropriate, as the destination provided necessary emergency services.
- The impact with the black vulture was an inadvertent and random occurrence that could not have been foreseen or avoided by the pilot.