- Date
- October 16, 1999, 12:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Staatsburg, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N783WWCessna 182S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19991016047359A
- Case key
- 47642
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
was the pilot's encounter with an unseen embankment while maneuvering to avoid a deer on the runway.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot performed a landing to the sod runway. He said he used back pressure on the control yoke during the rollout to keep the nose wheel off the runway. According to the pilot, he applied the brakes, lowered the nose, '...and lo and behold, there was a deer! I applied left brake to avoid the deer and went down an embankment I was unaware of.' The airplane departed the left side of the runway, struck brush, and sustained damage to the left wing, the left main landing gear, and the propeller.
Factual narrative
On October 16, 1999, at 1245 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182S, N783WW, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees during the landing roll at Airhaven Airport (09N), Staatsburg, New York. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated at Danbury, Connecticut (DXY), approximately 1200. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a telephone interview, the pilot stated he departed Danbury, Connecticut, approximately 1200, for the flight to Airhaven. He said that he got his weather information from the Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS) at DXY, and the winds were from 230 degrees at 11 knots. The pilot performed his approach to land on runway 20 at 09N and touched down "...just above the stall speed."
The pilot said he used back pressure on the control yoke during the rollout to keep the nose wheel off the runway. According to the pilot, he applied the brakes, lowered the nose, "...and lo and behold, there was a deer! I applied left brake to avoid the deer and went down an embankment I was unaware of."
The airplane departed the left side of the runway, struck brush, and sustained damage to the left wing, the left main landing gear, and the propeller.
When questioned if there were any mechanical deficiencies with the airplane, the pilot responded, "None whatsoever."
The pilot reported approximately 600 hours of flight experience. He said he began flying in 1959 and accrued approximately 300 hours of experience before he stopped flying in 1961. The pilot said he resumed flying in February 1998. He reported 300 hours of flight experience since that time, 200 hours of which were in the Cessna 182.
The sod runway at Airhaven Airport was 1,750 feet long and 75 feet wide.
The winds reported at Poughkeepsie, New York, 12 miles south of Airhaven were from 250 degrees at 10 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N783WW
- Reported as
- Cessna 182S
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18280351
- Airframe hours
- 166
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Saul A. Shapiro
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · September 3, 1999 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- DXR · Danbury, CT
- Destination
- 09N
- Airport
- 09N · Airhaven Airport, runway 20, 1,700 × 80 ft, grass/turf
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
- 73
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 379 total · 143 in this make and model · 279 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- POU, 13 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.