CHI00LA016

During its takeoff roll from a sod runway, the airplane's pilot said a deer was running toward the airplane from its right side. The pilot said she '...throttled back and hit the brakes...[and the airplane] ground looped.' Ground scars on the runway confirmed that the airplane made a left-hand, 180 degree turn that resulted in a collapsed right main landing gear and the outboard half of the right wing was bent upward about 20 degrees.

On October 9, 1999, at 1730 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 180J, N42536, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged during a collision with soft ground and a gravel road following a loss of control during takeoff on runway 18 (2,500' X 75' dry sod) at the Richters Field, Pleasant Hills, Missouri. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight was departing Pleasant Hills, Missouri, at 1645 cdt.

The pilot said she had "...just started[her]takeoff roll when[she] caught a glimpse of a deer running toward[the airplane]. It came from the right side... ." She said that she "...reacted out of instinct to try and not hit the deer." The pilot said she "...pulled the throttle back and hit the brakes." She said, "The airplane ground looped."

The on-scene investigation was conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration Principal Maintenance Inspector. He reported that N42536 had made a gradual left turn until its right main landing gear tire encountered soft soil next to a gravel road and collapsed. Ground scars made by the right main landing gear tire's side and fuselage showed that N42536 continued its left turn until it was headed about 180 degrees opposite its takeoff direction. The airplane's wreckage was partially on a road that paralleled the runway and was about 10 feet east of the runway. N42536's right main landing gear was collapsed and pushed against its fuselage side. The right wing, from its strut mount outboard to the tip was bent upward about 20 degrees. There were no witnesses to the accident.