CHI96LA221

During a landing flare at dusk, the passenger informed the pilot that there was a deer off the right side of the runway. The pilot attempted to go-around; however, the deer contacted the tail of the airplane, jamming the elevator control surface. The airplane climbed to an altitude of 20 to 25 feet, then entered a nose down descent to the runway. The nose of the airplane contacted the runway first, and the airplane slid off the side of the runway and nosed over.

On June 27, 1996, at 2050 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182Q, N4855N, struck a deer and subsequently nosed over while landing on runway 35 at the Huron County Memorial Airport, Bad Axe, Michigan. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and pilot-rated passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Sandusky, Michigan, at 2030 edt.

The pilot stated he entered the traffic pattern on an upwind leg to observe the windsock and to look for deer. He reported that throughout the traffic pattern he continued to look for deer and none were seen. According to the pilot, during the landing flare at an altitude of 10 to 15 feet above the ground, his passenger yelled out that there was a deer. He stated he looked to the right and saw a deer running at high speed toward the runway. The pilot reported he then added full power in an attempt to go- around. He continued to report, "...in doing so the tail went down. We then heard a heavy thud, the deer either ran into out tail assy or jumped up and hit the tail assy, tearing the metal and bending everything back which jammed our controls."

According to the pilot, the airplane climbed 20 to 25 feet at which time it entered a 45 degree nose down attitude toward the runway. The nose gear and propeller contacted the runway first. The airplane slid off the left side of the runway where the nose dug into soft dirt and the airplane nosed over.

The pilot reported that when runway 17-25 was constructed approximately two year ago, wet lands were intentionally built near the west side of the airport. He stated that due to the number of deer attracted to the wet lands a "very, very dangerous situation" has been created.