NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA05CA014
Registry · N607FT
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-161
Year of manufacture
1979 · 25 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19790124
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A7E1CF
Registrant of record
FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The inadvertent collision with a deer during takeoff which resulted in damage to the right brake system and the airplane being unable to stop prior to the end of the runway.
Factual narrative
On October 19, 2004, about 0820, eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, N6075FT registered to and operated by FIT Aviation LLC, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, struck a deer during takeoff on runway 14 at Valkaria Airport, Valkaria, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The private-rated pilot reported no injuries and the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight originated from Melbourne International Airport, Melbourne, Florida, earlier that day, about 0800. The pilot stated that he was in the takeoff portion of the third touch-and-go, when a deer ran out from the infield and struck the right side of the airplane wing root area. He reduced engine power to idle and applied the brakes but the right brakes had failed. The airplane veered off the runway and came to stop at the departure end of runway 9 in the grass. The pilot stated that he was in the takeoff portion of the third touch-and-go, when a deer ran out from the infield and struck the right side of the airplane wing root area. He reduced engine power to idle and applied the brakes but the right brakes had failed. The airplane veered off the runway and came to stop at the departure end of runway 9 in the grass. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2004_MIA05CA014.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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