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ERA23LA368

2023-07-14 · Culpeper, Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CJR

Current FAA registration · N1809H

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-181
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19770126
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A14447

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The airplane’s impact with a deer while performing a takeoff at night.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot completed several night landings without anomaly. Then, during the next takeoff, the student pilot applied engine power and the airplane accelerated down the runway. Just after reaching 50 knots, they noticed two deer standing in the center of the runway and called to abort the takeoff. They reduced the engine power and applied the brakes, but they were unable to stop before striking one of the deer with the left wing, which resulted in substantial damaged to the wing. The flight instructor reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Ability to respond/compensate
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_ERA23LA368.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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