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DEN00LA026

1999-12-10 · GILLETTE, Wyoming, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GCC

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The collision with a deer on the runway during a night landing. A factor was the dark night.

Factual narrative

On December 10, 1999, at 1730 mountain standard time, a Cessna 421C, N3912C, operated by Flight Line Aviation as an on demand air taxi, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a deer during landing roll at Campbell County Airport, Gillette, Wyoming. The commercial pilot and his two passengers were not injured. Dark night visual conditions prevailed for this charter flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 135 and an IFR flight plan was filed. The flight departed Rapid City, South Dakota, at 1645. According to the pilot, shortly after touchdown during landing roll, four deer appeared on the runway crossing from right to left. One deer collided with the right forward portion of the fuselage and right propeller. Both hull and propeller damage resulted. Published airport information lists deer and antelope as possible obstructions. There is no anti deer or antelope fencing or other game discouragement devices. During landing roll, after conducting a visual approach during dark night conditions, the airplane struck a deer on the runway. No preventative measures had been taken by the airport authority, other than listing as an obstruction the possibility of deer and antelope on the runway. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1999_DEN00LA026.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.