Cessna 172 N3082E

Summary

On 28 August 2012 at about 02:45 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N3082E, operated by Silverwing Flight Services, was involved in an accident near Sand Point, Idaho, United States. 2 people were 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

28 August 2012 at 02:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Sand Point, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Sandpoint (SZT)

Coordinates

48.2767, -116.5522

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N3082E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Silverwing Flight Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sand Point → Sand Point

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

WPR12CA375

Nobody was injured.

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.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.