- Date
- July 27, 2016, 14:35 local (18:35 UTC)
- Place
- Williamsburg, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N18228Cessna 150
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 12, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20160727011619A
- Case key
- 93699
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 evasive maneuver during the landing flare to avoid deer on the runway, which resulted in a collision with trees and terrain during a go-around. Contributing to the accident was the lack of an airport perimeter fence.
Findings · 3
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 solo student pilot reported that during a day visual meteorological condition flight, in the landing flare he saw a deer where he intended to touch down. He further reported that he banked to the right and applied power to go-around, but during the turn to the right he was unable to clear a line of trees in his flight path. The student pilot reported that the landing gear "scraped" one line of trees, and in order to avoid a thicker line of trees ahead, he forced the airplane down into a marsh area. The fuselage and both wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a postaccident interview with an airport representative, he reported that the airport does not a have a perimeter fence. The Federal Aviation Administration Chart Supplement airport page for the accident airport in part states: "Deer and birds on and invof [in the vicinity of] arpt."
Factual narrative
The solo student pilot reported that during a day visual meteorological condition flight, in the landing flare he saw a deer where he intended to touch down. He further reported that he banked to the right and applied power to go-around, but during the turn to the right he was unable to clear a line of trees in his flight path. The student pilot reported that the landing gear "scraped" one line of trees, and in order to avoid a thicker line of trees ahead, he forced the airplane down into a marsh area. The fuselage and both wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a postaccident interview with an airport representative, he reported that the airport does not a have a perimeter fence. The Federal Aviation Administration Chart Supplement airport page for the accident airport in part states: "Deer and birds on and invof [in the vicinity of] arpt."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18228
- Reported as
- Cessna 150 (L)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15073881
- Built
- 1973
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 1, 2015
- Departed
- JGG · Williamsburg, VA
- Destination
- JGG · Williamsburg, VA
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- JGG · Williamsburg-Jamestown, runway 31, 3,204 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 34
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 25 total · 25 in this make and model · 25 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2.4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KJGG
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 31, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 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.