Cessna 172 N3082E accident near Sand Point, Idaho

Probable cause

A deer strike during the landing flare. Contributing to the accident was the airport’s lack of any deer incursion prevention measures, such as an airport perimeter fence.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor and the student pilot had conducted a night visual flight rules instructional flight and were returning to their home base, a nontower-controlled airport. The student pilot set the airplane up for landing, and, according to the flight instructor, they looked carefully but did not see any wildlife on or near the runway throughout the approach and flare. However, during the flare, a deer ran onto the left side of the runway and collided with the airplane’s left horizontal stabilizer. The pilots maintained control of the airplane, and the subsequent touchdown and landing roll were uneventful. The airplane’s stabilizer was substantially damaged. According to the flight instructor, this was the third deer strike at that airport in as many years. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport/Facility Directory stated that wildlife was present on and in the vicinity of the airport, and the flight instructor reported that a similar message was normally contained in the airport's automated weather observing system radio broadcast. Postaccident discussions with the airport manager and FAA personnel revealed that deer are a known problem at the airport, and that efforts are underway to approve, fund, and install an airport perimeter fence no sooner than fall 2014. Discussions with United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Management Division personnel revealed that the agency’s local office was willing and able to provide direct technical assistance to the airport to explore and implement deer hazard mitigation strategies in the interim.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR12CA375 for the full record.