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Atlas / NTSB / CEN13CA337

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN13CA337

2013-06-08 Vinton, Iowa, United States Airport · VTI None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N717JR

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV7A

Year of manufacture

2007 · 6 years old at event

Engine

SUBARU ALL MDLS A/B (400 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20080530

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A996E6

Registrant of record

RODRIGUEZ DANIEL L SR

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The inadvertent collision with a deer during landing.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, during a day landing at a non-tower-controlled airport, the airplane had just touched down and was traveling at about 60 mph when the pilot saw four deer running across the runway. He reported that he had no time to react and could not avoid hitting one of the deer. The collision resulted in a rupture of the fuel cell in the wing, and substantial damage to the wing spar, engine compartment firewall, and lower fuselage. According to the pilot, during a day landing at a non-tower-controlled airport, the airplane had just touched down and was traveling at about 60 mph when the pilot saw four deer running across the runway. He reported that he had no time to react and could not avoid hitting one of the deer. The collision resulted in a rupture of the fuel cell in the wing, and substantial damage to the wing spar, engine compartment firewall, and lower fuselage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_CEN13CA337.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.