- Date
- June 18, 2021, 20:30 local (Jun 19, 2021, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Portland, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N310LCCessna 310R
- Defining event
- Landing: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20210618004259A
- Case key
- 103296
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The airplane’s collision with a deer on the runway during landing.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During the landing flare, a deer ran onto the left side of the runway and collided with the airplane; the left main landing gear separated from the airplane. The airplane veered to the left and continued off the runway into a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaacident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airport does not have a perimeter fence for wildlife hazard mitigation.
Factual narrative
On June 18, 2021, about 2030 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 310R airplane, N310LC, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident at Portland Municipal Airport (PLD), Portland, Indiana. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight. The pilot reported that he diverted to PLD due to thunderstorms. During the landing flare, a deer ran onto the left side of the runway and collided with airplane, separating the left main landing gear from the airplane. The airplane veered to the left and continued off the runway into a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and left horizontal stabilizer. The airport does not have a perimeter fence for wildlife hazard mitigation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N310LC
- Reported as
- Cessna 310R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 310R1595
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 6,179.8
- Engines
- Continental Motors IO-520-MB, 285 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental Motors IO-520-MB1B, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 135
- Operator
- B & F Aviation Inc, doing business as Sonrise Aviation
- Registered owner
- Sonrise Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 27, 2021
- Departed
- C02 · Lake Geneva, WI
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- PLD · Portland Muni, runway 09/27, 4,002 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 2, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,486.6 total · 227.7 in this make and model · 1,396.1 as pilot in command · 195.5 in the last 90 days · 79.5 in the last 30 days · 7.9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.78 inHg
- Observed at
- KMIE, 23 nm away
- METAR
- KMIE 190053Z 22007KT 10SM CLR 28/19 A2978 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT S SLP071 T02780194
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 30, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 9.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.