# NTSB CEN20LA431: Cessna 172, N79300, Big Rapids, MI, September 29, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: September 29, 2020, 18:40 local (22:40 UTC) - Place: Big Rapids, MI - Coordinates: 43.722639, -85.504056 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.7226&lon=-85.5041&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/310) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 102083 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN20LA431 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/102083/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102083 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA431 ## Probable cause The airplane’s impact with a deer during takeoff. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Object/animal/substance: animal(s)/bird(s)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Ability to respond/compensate (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172K, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md?model=2072430), [All aircraft, 358 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: animal(s)/bird(s)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on equipment (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172K, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md?model=2072430), [All aircraft, 358 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/310) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172K, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/310/sequence.md?model=2072430), [All aircraft, 107 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/310/sequence.md) ## Analysis The instructor pilot reported that the pilot was taking off following a night touch and go landing when he and the pilot heard a loud thump and the airplane yawed strongly to the left. The instructor pilot took control of the airplane, continued the takeoff, brought the airplane back to the airport, and landed uneventfully. As the instructor pilot was taxiing the airplane to the ramp, both he and the pilot saw several deer adjacent to the runway. A postaccident examination revealed the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and aft fuselage. The following morning a 100-pound deceased deer was found about 80 yards south of the departure runway. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The damage the airplane sustained was consistent with a deer strike. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N79300](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N79300), registered now, S/N 17258029 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172 (K) - Registry model: [Cessna 172K](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172k) (registry code 2072430) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17258029 - Year built: 1969 - Airframe hours: 4412 - Engines: Lycoming O-320 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Majestic Air LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 10, 2020, 104 hours before - Destination: 13C, Lakeview, MI - Airport: RQB, Roben Hood, runway 27, 4,300 × 75 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 62; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 7,000 total, 2,500 in this make and model, 120 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours - Pilot; age 45; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: unknown; seat: left; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 800 total, 100 in this make and model, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 270° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 6,000 ft broken - Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 29.79 inHg - Observed at: KFFX, 28 nm away - METAR: KFFX 292135Z AUTO 27010KT 10SM BKN025 BKN040 BKN050 13/08 A2979 RMK AO2 T01300078 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20200929012269A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200929012269A), Sep 29, 2020: Cessna 172K, Big Rapids, MI, Substantial damage. On September 29, 2020 at approximately 7:40 pm eastern daylight time (EDT), N79300, a C-172-K aircraft, registered [privacy data omitted] and operated by an… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 1, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=102083. 2.4 MB in all. - NTSB pilot operator report CEN20LA431 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11761374&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Pilot%20Operator%20Report%20CEN20LA431_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photo array CEN20LA431 (item 2, PDF, 3 pages, 948 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11760997&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array%20CEN20LA431-Rel.pdf 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. --- 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.