On 14 May 2005 at 0920Z, the pilot accompanied by a co-pilot and 10 passengers, departed Lanseria Aerodrome on a Domestic Charter flight to Phinda Aerodrome near Richards Bay. During the descent at 1105Z and approximately 1nm from joining overhead the aerodrome for landing on Runway 18 at Phinda Aerodrome, the pilot observed a bird just in front and slightly above the aircraft. He then shouted ‘bird’? but at that moment the bird impacted and shattered the co-pilot’s windshield. The pilot-in-command immediately took control of the aircraft in order to assess the damage sustained by the bird strike and also the controllability of the aircraft as the co-pilot was dazed and bleeding from his head. The pilot-in-command immediately called Mayday and turned onto left downwind with the aircraft yawing to the right with a loss of airspeed. At that stage, he experienced difficulty in turning the aircraft to the left and required additional power in order to maintain airspeed and rudder input to maintain runway heading. The aircraft landed safely with only a slight bounce. The co-pilot’s windshield was found completely shattered, the right-hand wing leading edge was dented at the wing root, headliner and cabin panels broken and seats and interior soiled. The co- pilot sustained facial cuts and bruises and 2 passengers sustained facial cuts. The last MPI was certified on 12 February 2004 at a total of 2950.4 hours. The aircraft had flown an addition of 70.9 hours since the MPI was certified. The pilot was in possession of a valid Commercial pilot’s license no. 437925, issued by the Licence Authority of Australia and South African validation, J6/15/1/6431 at the time of the accident. The Operator was in possession of a valid Air Operating Certificate No CAA N142D that was issued on 18 December 2003 and valid until 17 December 2004. PROBABLE CAUSE: The pilot experienced a bird strike during the descent prior to landing.