On September 22, 1999, an Aeronca 7AC (registration N81543) was involved in an aviation accident near Brookfield, OH. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot stalled the airplane while attempting to avoid deer on the runway. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
During landing at a private airstrip, a pilot attempted to avoid three deer on the runway and stalled the airplane from about 10 feet above the ground. The pilot had a prior stall-related accident during takeoff and refused to provide reports for both investigations.
Accident Details
The pilot reported that while landing at his private airstrip, he saw three deer on the runway and attempted to avoid them. During the maneuver, the airplane stalled and impacted the runway from an altitude of about 10 feet. No further details about the aircraft or injuries were provided.
Previous Incident
A review of the National Transportation Safety Board's database revealed that the same pilot was involved in a prior accident. In that earlier occurrence, a witness reported that the pilot stalled the airplane during takeoff. The pilot subsequently declined to submit the NTSB Pilot Operator Report for either investigation.
Pilot Cooperation
According to the NTSB, the pilot refused to provide the Pilot Operator Report for both the current accident and the previous incident. No additional information regarding the pilot's reasons for non-compliance was included in the source.
Probable cause
The pilot stalled the airplane while attempting to avoid deer on the runway.