Just prior to touch down at the airport in Williamston, N.C., the pilot saw a deer to his left. As the Cessna 305 settled, he corrected to the right to avoid the deer, but over-corrected and could not straighten the airplane’s path.
He added full power to attempt a go-around, however the airplane exited the right side of the runway and hit a drainage culvert.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, while the pilot sustained serious injuries.
Probable Cause: Loss of directional control to avoid a deer during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a culvert.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This October 2023 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.
I used to have deer whistles on my car until the deer I hit knocked them off as it bounced over the hood.
I soloed at an uncontrolled airport up near Lake Ontario. I remember getting to the hold short line and noticing a large doe grazing around the 500 foot mark or so off the right side, and thought “great- please stay over there!” Thankfully she did, and never seemed to pay the airplanes a bit of attention.
Jerry, have you ever seen deer run? Can you anticipate what they will do?
Deer Alerts, I swear by them! I used to drive the mountain roads at night in Colorado. With driving lights you could always see the deer and elk moving about in the fields along the highway. Once I put the whistles on the car I noticed the deer and elk were no longer moving, they would stand still and be looking to see where I’d just come from. I have them on all our cars and the airplane too!
It’s a good idea to make a low approach to clear the area in that situation.
Ummm… Jerry, deer move around fast.
And if you see any near the runway, don’t land.