Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Oconee County Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Clemson, South Carolina 29678
Friday, April 23, 2010 22:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the night takeoff roll, at an airspeed of about 60 knots, the pilot observed four to six brown animals traveling from left to right across the airplane's path. He felt a thump on the left side of the airplane, and he pulled back on the control column. The airplane became airborne and then another collision was felt. The pilot continued to increase the back pressure, but noticed that the airspeed was decreasing, and the stall warning horn was sounding. In response, he then reduced the back pressure. The airplane touched down on the main landing gear and pitched down until the propeller and fuselage contacted the runway. The airplane veered to the right and came to rest off the side of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that it struck several deer during the takeoff roll, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. A wooded area of approximately 60 acres bounded the north side of the airport; it was not owned by the airport, and no fence separated the two. The airport director stated that deer regularly come on airport property to feed on the vegetation growing around the runway. He possessed a deer depredation permit to help eliminate deer strikes, but runway construction had temporarily precluded that activity. Information about the potential for the presence of deer at the airport was not incorporated into the airport's automated surface observing system (ASOS) broadcasts. The airport director was also attempting to obtain funding for a fence along the northern boundary of the airport. Subsequent to the accident, the text "Deer on and Inv of rwy" was added the Airport Remarks section of the airport's entry in the FAA Airport/Facility Directory.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The airplane's inadvertent collision with deer during a night takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a deer barrier between the airport and an adjacent wooded area.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/23/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2245 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Clemson |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29678 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 344011N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0825307W |
| Event Location Airport | Oconee County Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CEU |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 892 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2254 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CEU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 892 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28372 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 15 2011 3:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | andj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N364ST |
| NTSB Number | ERA10LA247 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA 46-350P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 4636364 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4300 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 3 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 92 |
| Airframe Hours | 985 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RANDOLPH M JAMES |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | WINSTON SALEM |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27120-0069 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | RANDOLPH M JAMES |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | WINSTON SALEM |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 27120-0069 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | CEU |
| Departure City | Clemson |
| Departure State | SC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2245 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | INT |
| Destination City | Winston-Salem |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 8 2011 12:22PM |
| User who most recently changed record | andj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 07 |
| Runway Length | 4400 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |