- Date
- August 31, 2001, 19:47 local (Sep 1, 2001, 00:47 UTC)
- Place
- Madison, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N19302Cessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report November 28, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20010831026309A
- Case key
- 53273
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 deer which struck the empennage of the airplane during the landing flare.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane was struck by a deer while landing. The pilot reported that the passenger reported seeing a small deer off the right side of the runway when the airplane was in the landing flare. The pilot reported that just prior to the nose touching down he heard a loud sound which he likened to a low frequency clunk. He reported that he did not have any difficulty in controlling the airplane during the remainder of the landing. The passenger reported to the pilot that she looked back and saw a deer climbing to its feet and running into the brush beside the runway. The pilot taxied to the ramp and upon inspecting the airplane he discovered "...the empennage had been destabilized to the right. There was remnant of animal fur on the left lateral leading edge of left stabilizers."
Factual narrative
On August 31, 2001, at 1947 central daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N19302, was struck by a deer while landing on runway 09 (2,146 feet by 56 feet, asphalt) at the Blackhawk Airfield, Madison, Wisconsin. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane received substantial damage to the empennage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from the Blackhawk Airfield at 1915.
The pilot reported that the passenger reported seeing a small deer off the right side of the runway when the airplane was in the landing flare. The pilot reported that just prior to the nose touching down he heard a loud sound which he likened to a low frequency clunk. He reported that he did not have any difficulty in controlling the airplane during the remainder of the landing. The passenger reported to the pilot that she looked back and saw a deer climbing to its feet and running into the brush beside the runway. The pilot taxied to the ramp and upon inspecting the airplane he discovered "...the empennage had been destabilized to the right. There was remnant of animal fur on the left lateral leading edge of left stabilizers."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N19302
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15074319
- Airframe hours
- 3,074
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Mark A. Neumann
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 10, 2001 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- 87Y · Madison, WI
- Destination
- 87Y · Madison, WI
- Airport
- 87Y · Blackhawk, runway 09, 2,146 × 56 ft, asphalt
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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- December 24, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 180 total · 151 in this make and model · 115 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 40° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- MSN, 7 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.