Piper PA 46-350P N364ST

Summary

On 24 April 2010 at about 02:45 local time, a Piper PA 46-350P registered N364ST was involved in an accident near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 April 2010 at 02:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Clemson, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Oconee County Regional (CEU)

Coordinates

34.6697, -82.8853

Aircraft

Piper PA 46-350P

Registration

N364ST

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clemson → Winston-Salem

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA10LA247

Nobody was injured.

The airplane's inadvertent collision with deer during a night takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a deer barrier between the airport and an adjacent wooded area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the night takeoff roll, at an airspeed of about 60 knots, the pilot observed four to six brown animals traveling from left to right across the airplane's path. He felt a thump on the left side of the airplane, and he pulled back on the control column. The airplane became airborne and then another collision was felt. The pilot continued to increase the back pressure, but noticed that the airspeed was decreasing, and the stall warning horn was sounding. In response, he then reduced the back pressure. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear and pitched down until the propeller and fuselage contacted the runway. The airplane veered to the right and came to rest off the side of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that it struck several deer during the takeoff roll, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. A wooded area of approximately 60 acres bounded the north side of the airport; it was not owned by the airport, and no fence separated the two. The airport director stated that deer regularly come on airport property to feed on the vegetation growing around the runway. He possessed a deer depredation permit to help eliminate deer strikes, but runway construction had temporarily precluded that activity. Information about the potential for the presence of deer at the airport was not incorporated into the airport's automated surface observing system (ASOS) broadcasts. The airport director was also attempting to obtain funding for a fence along the northern boundary of the airport. Subsequent to the accident, the text "Deer on and Inv of rwy" was added the Airport Remarks section of the airport's entry in the FAA Airport/Facility Directory.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.