The pilot of a C172 and his passenger were slightly injured when a bird strike caused the windscreen...

Attributes
ACN	1117541
Time
Date	201309
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	CGS.Airport
State Reference	MD
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Direct Visual Approach
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Cockpit Window
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 9 Flight Crew Total 1292 Flight Crew Type 969
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness Inflight Event / Encounter Bird / Animal

Narrative:

At 1;000 ft AGL a moderately large dark colored bird flew directly into our path; resulting in a bird strike. The strike shattered the windscreen; with most parts penetrating into the cockpit causing four or five minor cuts/scratches to the pilot and passenger. The aircraft remained flyable and controllable. The pilot chose to continue approach to [the planned airport] as it was the nearest approach and was already set up for landing on the active runway. The pilot then radioed a mayday on unicom; describing the bird strike; loss of windscreen; no injuries; and intent to continue the straight-in approach. The landing was hard due to loss of elevator authority; but within normal performance. We then taxied to tie-down and secured airplane. Preliminary post-flight inspection showed bird impact on propeller; complete destruction of windscreen and damage to the magnetic compass. There were no obvious remains of the bird in the aircraft. Apparent injuries were limited to 4-5 small cuts and scrapes not requiring medical attention. No medical attention was sought.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of a C172 and his passenger were slightly injured when a bird strike caused the windscreen to shatter and pieces to penetrate into the cockpit. The pilot was able to maintain control and land at the planned destination airport.

Narrative: At 1;000 FT AGL a moderately large dark colored bird flew directly into our path; resulting in a bird strike. The strike shattered the windscreen; with most parts penetrating into the cockpit causing four or five minor cuts/scratches to the pilot and passenger. The aircraft remained flyable and controllable. The pilot chose to continue approach to [the planned airport] as it was the nearest approach and was already set up for landing on the active runway. The pilot then radioed a Mayday on UNICOM; describing the bird strike; loss of windscreen; no injuries; and intent to continue the straight-in approach. The landing was hard due to loss of elevator authority; but within normal performance. We then taxied to tie-down and secured airplane. Preliminary post-flight inspection showed bird impact on propeller; complete destruction of windscreen and damage to the magnetic compass. There were no obvious remains of the bird in the aircraft. Apparent injuries were limited to 4-5 small cuts and scrapes not requiring medical attention. No medical attention was sought.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.