- Date
- September 8, 2013, 19:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Shellman Bluff, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7619XCessna 172B
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 21, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20130908018389A
- Case key
- 88030
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 landing.
Findings · 1
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
The pilot reported that he was landing at a private airport after a cross-country flight. During the landing flare, just prior to touchdown, a small deer ran onto the runway toward the airplane. The pilot increased engine power and attempted to climb; however, the deer struck and substantially damaged the left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reduced engine power and subsequently landed on the runway without further incident. The pilot indicated that he did not experience any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was landing at a private airport after a cross-country flight. During the landing flare, just prior to touchdown, a small deer ran onto the runway toward the airplane. The pilot increased engine power and attempted to climb; however, the deer struck and substantially damaged the left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reduced engine power and subsequently landed on the runway without further incident. The pilot indicated that he did not experience any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7619X
- Reported as
- Cessna 172B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17248119
- Built
- 1960
- Airframe hours
- 3,662
- Engine
- Cont Motor 0-300 SER, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wilson Curtis E
- Registered owner
- Wilson Curtis E
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 5, 2012 · 52 hours before
- Departed
- DAB · Daytona Beach, FL
- Destination
- 1GA0 · Shellman Bluff, GA
- Airport
- 1GA0 · Eagle Neck, runway 19, 3,527 × 41 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 27, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 797 total · 735 in this make and model · 762 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KLHW, 19 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 26, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.6 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.