Citation II Tangles With A Deer On Landing At Greenwood, SC

A Citation II registered to the U.S. Customs Service landing at Greenwood County Airport (KGRD) in Greenwood, SC, came out the worse for wear after striking a deer that had strayed onto the runway. Fortunately, the two flight crew members who had been conducting a post-maintenance test flight managed to escape uninjured from the airplane, which was "substantially consumed" by a post-accident fire, according to the preliminary report from the NTSB.

NTSB Identification: ERA13LA061
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, November 17, 2012 in Greenwood, SC
Aircraft: CESSNA 550, registration: N6763L
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On November 17, 2012, about 1145 eastern standard time, a Cessna 550, N6763L, registered to the United States Customs Service, and operated by Stevens Aviation, Inc., was substantially damaged during collision with a deer after landing on Runway 9 at Greenwood County Airport (GRD), Greenwood, South Carolina. The airplane was subsequently consumed by post-crash fire. The 2 certificated airline transport pilots were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the maintenance test flight which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to conduct a test of the autopilot and flight director systems on board the airplane following a "cockpit modernization" their company had performed. The airplane completed the NDB/GPS RWY 27 instrument approach procedure and then circled to land on Runway 9. About 5 seconds into the landing rollout, a deer appeared from the wood line and ran into the path of the airplane. The deer struck the airplane at the leading edge of the left wing above the left main landing gear, and ruptured an adjacent fuel cell.

The pilot was able to maintain directional control, and the airplane was stopped on the runway, spilling fuel and on fire. The crew performed an emergency shutdown of the airplane and egressed without injury.

The airplane was manufactured in 1991, and its most recent Approved Aircraft Inspection Program (AAIP) inspection was completed November 16, 2012, at 8,611 total aircraft hours.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov