Litchfield Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Litchfield, Illinois 62056
Saturday, August 9, 2003 20:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was damaged when it struck a deer during the landing roll at night. The pilot reported that he performed a low approach to check the runway condition prior to executing the landing. The pilot reported that one deer ran across the runway while the airplane was on the landing roll and shortly afterward, a second deer ran onto the runway and was struck by the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An animal wandered onto the runway and collided with the airplane. A factor was the night light condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/9/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 2040
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Litchfield
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62056
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 390945N
Event Location Longitude 0894029W
Event Location Airport LITCHFIELD MUNI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3LF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 690
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2045 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 227
Weather Observation Facility ID ALN
Elevation of weather observation facility 544
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15431
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Springfield FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3258W
NTSB Number CHI03LA258
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-32-260
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32-81
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 5 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 75
Airframe Hours 4259
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James Clifton
Aircraft Owner Street Address 126 Knob Creek Ln.
Aircraft Owner City O'Fallon
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 62269
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ALN
Departure City Alton
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2025
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 3LF
Destination City Litchfield
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 12 2006 12:01PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 4003
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --