Incident Overview
During the landing roll, two deer emerged from a wooded area and moved onto the runway from left to right in front of the airplane. In an attempt to avoid a collision, the pilot applied left rudder, anticipating that the deer would continue across the runway.
Sequence of Events
One deer continued across the runway as expected. However, the second deer stopped on the runway and reversed direction, heading back into the woods. The pilot then applied right rudder in an effort to avoid this deer. The sudden application of rudder input caused the airplane to ground loop.
Aircraft Damage
During the ground loop, the left wing contacted the terrain, resulting in substantial damage.