The pilot reported that, during a night landing at the airport in Kent, Ohio, he saw “a streak of motion” in his peripheral vision, followed by an impact with the Cessna 172’s empennage.
He regained directional control and taxied clear of the runway.
Post-accident examination revealed that a deer struck the horizontal stabilizer, which sustained substantial damage.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable cause: A deer collided with aircraft during landing at night.
NTSB Identification: GAA18CA150
This March 2018 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Deer Alerts – In WA state deer are everywhere! We’ve installed Deer Alerts on our airplane.
I just as noted in this story as in most all deer “encounters,” the deer jump out into the path of a car or airplane. In Colorado I used to travel the mountain roads at night with some extra driving lights. I’d always see deer and elk moving about in the meadows along the sides of the highway. Someone told me about the deer whistles that mount on your car . . . once I put those on the car it appeared that all the deer and elk were STANDING STILL and looking at where I’d just come from.
During my take off roll, I noticed a deer on airport property but a considerable distance from the runway, or I thought. At mach 1, he crossed the runway immediately behind the plane. DO NOT under estimate the speed of a deer.
This reminds me of a story my Dad likes to tell occasionally. When he served on the commission of a small-town airport in WI back in the early 80’s, they were having trouble with deer crossing the runway, leading to several near-hits. So they applied to the state for grant money to build a fence around the airport. Some time later, the state airport commissioner finally decided to fly in to discuss the matter with them. On approach, a deer ran out onto the runway in front of the commissioner’s plane, which they narrowly avoided. The grant money was shortly approved.
I was flying for Skyway Aviation at KTBN and just about ready flare a B99 when 2 deer appeared. By instinct I pulled back on the yoke and glider over the deer. Scard the heck out of me and the Pax but all was well that ended well.