Pilot Debrief

RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY 58 near Lancaster, PA — 2016-10-25

Final reportGAA17CA074
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Date
2016-10-25
Location
Lancaster, PA, USA
Airport
LNS
Aircraft
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT COMPANY 58
Registration
N600RV
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

A collision with deer on the runway during the takeoff roll.

NTSB narrative

The pilot of the multiengine retractable landing gear airplane reported that during takeoff, two deer ran onto the runway as the airplane became airborne and that he heard and felt one of the deer hit the left main landing gear. He further reported that he diverted to an airport with an operating control tower, where he performed two passes in front of the tower, and was informed by tower personnel that it "appeared" that the left main landing gear was no longer "attached to the airplane". The pilot reported that he decided the best course of action was to land with the landing gear retracted, and on short final he moved the mixture controls to idle cut off, feathered the propellers, and turned both fuel selectors off. The airplane landed gear up and all persons on board evacuated immediately. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. In an email exchange with the Director of Operations of the flight company, he reported that there were no reported mechanical anomalies with the airframe or engine prior to the deer impact. The Federal Aviation Administration Chart Supplement airport page for the departure airport in part states: "Deer and large flocks of geese on and invof [in the vicinity of] arpt."

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted takeoff upon seeing deer on runway.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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