- Date
- August 30, 2020, 22:00 local (Aug 31, 2020, 05:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fortuna, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N982SBBeechcraft C90A
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Wildlife encounter (non-bird)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20200830013979A
- Case key
- 101997
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
A collision with a deer while landing at night.
Findings · 2
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 of a multi-engine airplane reported that, during the night landing, a deer ran across the runway and struck the left engine. The pilot subsequently taxied the airplane to the ramp without further incident. The left engine mount was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N982SB
- Reported as
- Beechcraft C90A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- LJ-1518
- Built
- 1998
- Airframe hours
- 3,868.3
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135A, 750 horsepower, turbo propPratt & Whitney PT6A-135A, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Guardian Flight, Llc
- Registered owner
- Cal-Ore Life Flight Llc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- June 4, 2020
- Departed
- CEC · Crescent City, CA
- Destination
- FOT · Fortuna, CA
- Airport
- FOT · Rohnerville, runway 11, 4,005 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Satellite tracking device, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Data recorder, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 9, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 7,500 as pilot in command · 73 in the last 90 days · 39 in the last 30 days · 4.5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 110° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- KFOT
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 12, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 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.