- Date
- August 21, 2005, 19:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Readington, NJ
- Injuries
- 8 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6159XCessna 421C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050821018259A
- Case key
- 62286
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 encounter with animals during the landing - flare/touchdown.
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
As the airplane touched down, a "herd of deer" ran across the runway into the airplane's path. The airplane struck 2 or 3 deer, then veered to the right, departing the runway surface.
Factual narrative
On August 21, 2005, at 1915 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 421C, N6159X, was substantially damaged when it impacted several deer while landing at Solberg Airport (N51), Readington, New Jersey. The certificated private pilot and 7 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Lebanon Municipal Airport (LEB), Lebanon, New Hampshire, at 1745. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In a telephone interview, the pilot described a routine flight, and said the airplane was performing "perfectly" as he approached the destination airport. At the exact moment of touchdown to the runway, a "herd of deer" ran across the runway in the airplane's path. The airplane struck 2 or 3 deer, then veered to the right and departed the runway surface.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane at the scene. According to the inspector, two of the deer remained on the runway, and evidence of their collision with the airplane remained on the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6159X
- Reported as
- Cessna 421C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 894
- Engine
- Continental GTSIO-520L, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- G. Robert Marcus
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LEB · Lebanon, NH
- Destination
- N51 · Readington, NJ
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 1,877 total · 700 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.