- Date
- January 28, 2002, 21:30 local (Jan 29, 2002, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Falls City, NE
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N56729Piper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 54100
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 striking the airplane during landing. A factor relating to this accident was the dark night.
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 pilot said they were in the landing flare and the main landing gear had touched down when he heard a loud bang and the airplane swerved right and then left. The pilot regained control of the airplane and taxied to parking. The pilot said that later he went out to the runway and found a 200 pound buck deer laying on the left side of the runway. An examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the right wing. No other anomalies were found.
Factual narrative
On January 28, 2002, at 2130 central standard time, a Piper PA-32-300, N56729, piloted by a private pilot sustained substantial damage when a deer struck the airplane's right wing during landing on runway 32 (4,000 feet by 60 feet, dry asphalt) at Brenner Field (FNB), Falls City, Nebraska. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted without a flight plan under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot and two passengers on board the airplane reported no injuries. The deer was fatally injured. The cross country flight originated at Atlantic, Iowa, and was en route to Falls City, Nebraska.
In his written statement, the pilot said they were in the flare and the main landing gear had touched down when he heard a loud bang and the airplane swerved right and then left. The pilot regained control of the airplane and taxied to parking. The pilot said that later he went out to the runway and found a 200 pound buck deer laying on the left side of the runway.
A FAA designated Airframe and Powerplant mechanic examined the airplane at FNB. The mechanic said that the center of the right wing where the metal fuel tank was located was broken open. The wing ribs in the area of the impact were crushed aft. The main spar, aft of the fuel tank, was bent aft. The right main landing gear skirt was broken aft. The gear leg was bent outward slightly. Flight control continuity was confirmed. An examination of the airplane's engine, engine controls and other airplane systems revealed no anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N56729
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7440022
- Airframe hours
- 3,200
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-550G, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stephen C. Stripe
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 21, 2001
- Departed
- AIO · Atlantic, IA
- Destination
- FNB · Falls City, NE
- Airport
- FNB · Brenner Field, runway 32, 4,000 × 60 ft, concrete
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
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 516 total · 190 in this make and model · 381 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,900 ft broken
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- FNB
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 17, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.0 MB in all.