- Date
- February 23, 2004, 17:56 local (22:56 UTC)
- Place
- Youngstown, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N738EKCessna 172N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20040223003569A
- Case key
- 58816
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 while landing.
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
During the landing flare, the student pilot felt an impact on the right side of the empennage. The student pilot looked back and observed that the airplane had struck a deer, which resulted in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. The student pilot then taxied the airplane uneventfully to the ramp area.
Factual narrative
On February 23, 2004, at 1756 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172N, N738EK, was substantially damaged while landing at Youngstown Elser Metro Airport (4G4), Youngstown, Ohio. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local solo instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The student pilot reported that she was landing on runway 10, a 4,012-foot long, 50-foot wide, asphalt runway. During the flare, she felt an impact on the right side of the empennage. The student pilot looked back and observed that the airplane had struck a deer. The student pilot then taxied the airplane uneventfully to the ramp area.
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N738EK
- Reported as
- Cessna 172N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17269918
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Crosswind Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 4G4 · Youngstown, OH
- Destination
- 4G4
- Airport
- 4G4 · Youngstown Elser Metro Airport, runway 10, 4,012 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 30
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 29 total · 29 in this make and model · 2 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 37 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.