Laytonsville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Laytonsville, Maryland 20882
Saturday, November 1, 2003 17:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was on final approach, with landing flaps, at a low altitude, transitioning to land when deer ran in front of the airplane. The pilot reported that he thought the airplane would strike the deer, and abruptly pulled back on the control wheel. He also added power; however, the pitch up preceded the engine responding. The pilot said the stall horn sounded momentarily, and then the airplane descended in a nose down attitude and struck the ground, about 150 feet short of the runway and slid for 100 feet. The nose landing gear collapsed, the lower fuselage was crushed, and the firewall was wrinkled. A witness reported that the final approach course brought the airplane over a corn field, where deer have been seen before. The landing distance chart from the Owner's manual revealed the airplane could have crossed the end of the runway at 50 feet, and still stopped within the remaining runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's abrupt evasive maneuver to avoid the deer, which resulted in the loss of airspeed and an inadvertent stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/1/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1715
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Laytonsville
Event State MARYLAND
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 20882
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 391440N
Event Location Longitude 0770855W
Event Location Airport Laytonsville
Event Location Nearest Airport ID W50
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1722 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 325
Weather Observation Facility ID FDK
Elevation of weather observation facility 304
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.21
Density Altitude (feet) 820
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15768
NTSB Notification Source FAA New England Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Nov 1 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1740
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Baltimore, Maryland

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N70800
NTSB Number NYC04CA022
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 182M
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18259367
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 43
Airframe Hours 3445
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James G. Weaver
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Laytonsville
Aircraft Owner State MD
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 20882
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 40N
Departure City Coatsville
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code W50
Destination City Laytonsville
Destination State MD
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 2 2003 11:26AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 2005
Runway Width 25
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --