- Date
- May 1, 2021, 20:39 local (May 2, 2021, 00:39 UTC)
- Place
- Charleston, SC · rwy 27
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N803SCCessna 550
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210501007639A
- Case key
- 103131
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 airplane's impact with a deer during takeoff.
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, during takeoff, the airplane collided with two deer just after rotation. He continued the climbout and assessed that the flight controls functioned normally, but that the airplane was having issues with pressurization, and he was unable to communicate via radio. He eventually was able to contact air traffic control via mobile phone to coordinate their arrival at the destination and landed there uneventfully. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that it had sustained substantial damage to the right wing and its pressure vessel during the collision with the deer.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N803SC
- Reported as
- Cessna 550 (CIT. II)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5500615
- Built
- 1989
- Airframe hours
- 6,778.4
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney JT15D-4, 2,500 lbs thrust, turbo fanPratt & Whitney JY15D-4, 2,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Stb Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Stb Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · April 16, 2021
- Destination
- CAE · Columbia, SC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- JZI · Charleston Exec, runway 09/27, 5,350 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 4, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 3,990 total · 772 in this make and model · 2,238 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,600 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- JZI
- METAR
- KJZI 020035Z AUTO 11004KT 8SM BKN046 BKN050 18/13 A3006 RMK AO2
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 31, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.3 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.