- Date
- June 29, 2003, 19:40 local (Jun 30, 2003, 00:40 UTC)
- Place
- Plymouth, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3832RCessna 172H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA- South Bend FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030629019929A
- Case key
- 57394
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 collision with a deer during landing.
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 substantially damaged when it struck a deer while landing.
Factual narrative
On June 29, 2003, at 1940 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172H, N3832R, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it impacted a deer while landing on runway 28 (4,400 feet by 60 feet, asphalt) at Plymouth Municipal Airport (C65), Plymouth, Indiana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and his passenger were uninjured. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The flight departed Warsaw Municipal Airport, Warsaw, Indiana, at 1915 with an intended destination of the Griffith-Merrillville Airport, Griffith, Indiana.
The pilot stated he landed normally and the deer "darted" onto the runway impacting the airplane's right stabilizer and elevator tip. The stabilizer was bent upward and aft, and the tail section of the airplane was bent about 30 degrees to the left.
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or defects.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3832R
- Reported as
- Cessna 172H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17255332
- Airframe hours
- 3,452
- Engine
- Continental O-300-D, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 20, 2003 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- ASW · Warsaw, IN
- Destination
- 05C · Griffith, IN
- Airport
- C65 · Plymouth Municipal Airport, runway 28, 4,400 × 60 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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- February 25, 2003
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 373 total · 300 in this make and model · 302 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 320° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- SBN, 20 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.