# Accident 20001206032489A: Emb EMB120ER, Charleston, WV, December 6, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 6, 2000, 20:38 local time - Place: Charleston, WV - Airport: Yeager - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing) - Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121) - Operator: ASOA - Location: 38.3498° N, 81.6298° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.3498&lon=-81.6298&mi=10 - Aircraft: N504AS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N504AS-2021-09-04) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Embraer EMB-120ER (registry code 3260203, https://openairdocs.org/model/embraer-emb-120er) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PW118B (registry code 52131, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pw118b) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: EMB EMB120ER - Reported engine: PWA PW118 - People aboard: 18 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 4,510 total, 2,817 in this make and model, 235 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC01LA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01LA054) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001206032489A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRLINES FLIGHT 4071 AN EMB-120-RT, N504AS HAD JUST LANDED ON RUNWAY 23 AT THE CHARLESTON (YEAGER AIRPORT), WEST VIRGINIA (CRW) WHEREUPON DURING ROLLOUT THE A/C STRUCK TWO (2) DEER. ONE DEER MADE CONTACT WITH THE NOSE LANDING GEAR AND THE OTHER WAS STRUCK BY THE RIGHT HAND PROPELLER. THE IMPACT WITH THE DEER AND THE RIGHT HAND PROPELLER CAUSED ONE PROP TO LOSE ABOUT EIGHT (8) INCHES OF THE TIP. THE LEADING EDGE OF THAT TIP PENETRATED THE FUSELAGE JUST AFT OF FUSELAGE STATION 21 AND BETWEEN STRINGERS 14R AND 15R LEAVING A HOLE EIGHT (8) INCHES LING. THE PROPELLER TIP THAT PENETRATED THE FUSELAGE CAUSED A MINOR INJURY TO A PASSENGER SEATED IN 3C. (.4) ON DECEMBER 6, 2000, AT 2038 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, AN EMBRAER 120RT, N504AS, OPERATING AS ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRWAYS FLIGHT 71, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH DEER DURING LANDING ROLL-OUT AT YEAGER AIRPORT (CRW), CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA. THE 3-PERSON CREW AND 15 PASSENGERS WERE UNINJURED, AND 1 PASSENGER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT NIGHT, DURING VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. AN INSTRUMENT FLIGH T RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT, BETWEEN THE WILLIAM B. HARTSFIELD ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ATL), ATLANTA, GEORGIA, AND YEAGER AIRPORT. THE SCHEDULED PASSENGER FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 121. ACCORDING TO THE CAPTAIN, WITHIN SECONDS OF LANDING ON RUNWAY 23, THE AIRPLANE STRUCK TWO DEER. THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT THEN CONTACTED THE COCKPIT CREW, AND INFORMED THEM THAT THERE WAS AN INJURED PASSENGER. AFTER PARKING AT THE GATE, A WALK-AROUND INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE TIP OF A PROPELLER BLADE FROM THE NUMBER 2 ENGINE HAD SEPARATED, AND PUNCTURED THE AIRPLANE'S FUSELAGE. WEATHER AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT INCLUDED OVERCAST SKIES AND LIGHT SNOW. ACCORDING TO A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTOR, ONE OF THE DEER WAS HIT BY THE NOSE LANDING GEAR AND THE OTHER WAS HIT BY THE RIGHT ENGINE PROPELLER. THE SEPARATED BLADE TIP WAS ABOUT 4 INCHES LONG AND 3 INCHES WIDE. IT ENTERED THE CABIN JUST AFT OF FRAME 21, BETWEEN STRINGERS 14R AND 15R. THE PASSENGER WAS SITTING IN SEAT 3C. A REVIEW OF THE TOWER AUDIO RECORDING REVEALED THAT AN AIRPORT RUNWAY INSPECTION HAD COMMENCED SHORTLY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, BUT THAT THE INSPECTION VEHICLE HAD NOT YET REACHED THE AREA WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. AN AIRPORT INSPECTION FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT REVEALED BREACHES IN THE PERIMETER FENCE, IN GULLY AREAS NEAR THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 15, AND ABEAM RUNWAY 23, ABOUT 1,300 FEET FROM THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD. ACCORDING TO THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, A WILDLIFE INSPECTION PROGRAM WAS IN EFFECT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. INSPECTIONS OF AIRPORT SURFACES, INCLUDING THE ONE NOTED IN THE AUDIO RECORDINGS, WERE CONDUCTED TWICE DAILY. HIGHER DEER ACTIVITY WAS TYPICALLY OBSERVED BETWEEN OCTOBER AND JANUARY DUE TO THE MATING SEASON. PERIMETER FENCE MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS, WHICH WERE CONDUCTED MONTHLY, WERE SCHEDULED TO BE INCREASED DURING UPCOMING FALL AND WINTER SEASONS, DUE IN PART, TO THE HIGHER VOLUME OF DEER AT THAT TIME. A PROGRAM TO CLEAR THE FENCE LINE OF ALL BRUSH AND WEEDS, AND REMOVE ALL TREES AND BRUSH INSIDE THE FENCE, WAS SCHEDULED TO COMMENCE IN THE SPRING OF 2002. THE AIRPORT AUTHORITY WAS ALSO AUTHORIZED TO ELIMINATE DEER AS NEEDED. WHILE THE PROGRAM HAD BEEN CONDUCTED WITHIN THE PERIMETER FENCE FOR OVER 2 YEARS, AS A RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT, IT WAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE DEER NEAR THE PERIMETER FENCE AS WELL. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, A WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT STUDY HAD BEEN APPROVED BY THE FAA. THE YEARLONG STUDY, TO INCLUDE MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES, WAS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN IN AUGUST 2001. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB NYC01LA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01LA054), Dec 7, 2000: Embraer 120RT (N504AS), Charleston, WV, substantial damage. Probable cause: Deer on the runway. Factors included reduced visibility due to nighttime lighting and light snow conditions, breaches in the perimeter fence, increased seasonal deer activity, and the rural location… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.