Cessna 150 N18228 accident near Williamsburg, Virginia

Probable cause

An evasive maneuver during the landing flare to avoid deer on the runway, which resulted in a collision with trees and terrain during a go-around. Contributing to the accident was the lack of an airport perimeter fence.

NTSB analysis

The solo student pilot reported that during a day visual meteorological condition flight, in the landing flare he saw a deer where he intended to touch down. He further reported that he banked to the right and applied power to go-around, but during the turn to the right he was unable to clear a line of trees in his flight path. The student pilot reported that the landing gear "scraped" one line of trees, and in order to avoid a thicker line of trees ahead, he forced the airplane down into a marsh area.

The fuselage and both wings sustained substantial damage.

The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

During a postaccident interview with an airport representative, he reported that the airport does not a have a perimeter fence.

The Federal Aviation Administration Chart Supplement airport page for the accident airport in part states: "Deer and birds on and invof [in the vicinity of] arpt."

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA16CA396 for the full record.