- Date
- February 13, 2012, 20:30 local (Feb 14, 2012, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Eufaula, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6194VCessna 172S
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120213002559A
- Case key
- 82924
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
An inadvertent collision with a deer during a night landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the flight instructor, during a night landing at a non-tower-controlled airport, the student pilot flared the airplane. They both then felt and heard a loud jolt and thought the student pilot had made a hard landing. The student pilot completed the landing roll, turned the airplane around, and began to back taxi. During the back taxi, both pilots saw remnants of a deer in the middle of the runway. The student pilot was then directed to taxi off the runway and shut down the engine. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the main landing gear, engine compartment firewall, lower fuselage, nose cowling and propeller. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane.
Factual narrative
According to the flight instructor, during a night landing at a non-tower-controlled airport, the student pilot flared the airplane. They both then felt and heard a loud jolt, and thought the student pilot had made a hard landing. The student pilot completed the landing roll, turned the airplane around, and began to back taxi. During the back taxi, both pilots saw remnants of a deer in the middle of the runway. The student pilot was then directed to taxi off the runway and shut down the engine. A postflight examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the main landing gear, engine compartment firewall, lower fuselage, nose cowling and propeller. No preexisting mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6194V
- Reported as
- Cessna 172S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 172S10771
- Airframe hours
- 1,550
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Auburn University
- Registered owner
- Christiansen Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 25, 2012
- Departed
- ECD · Panama City, FL
- Destination
- EUF · Eufaula, AL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- EUF · Weedon Field Airport, runway 36, 5,000 × 100 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 33
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 9, 2011
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 452 total · 244 in this make and model · 398 as pilot in command · 64 in the last 90 days · 49 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 18
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 21, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 109 total · 109 in this make and model · 57 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- EUF
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 21, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.