What happened
Shortly after touchdown on a 5,010-foot runway, the aircraft type struck two deer. The impact occurred approximately 1,500 feet down the runway, roughly 4.2 seconds after landing at a ground speed of 124 knots. Following the collision, the aircraft continued along the runway with smoking tires before veering off the right side near the runway's end. The plane crossed a taxiway, entered a ditch, and caught fire. While the aircraft was expected to stop within 850 feet under maximum braking, heavy skid marks indicated the plane traveled significantly further, exiting the paved surface and traveling an additional 500 feet across grass and dirt.
Post-accident inspections revealed that all three landing gear components had collapsed. The main tires showed significant wear, with rubber worn through in several areas. Although the crew had deployed the thrust reversers during the landing roll, the levers and throttles were found in the stowed and idle positions, respectively, at the time of investigation.
Findings
Investigators determined that deer fur became lodged in the squat switch of the left main landing gear following the initial collision. This debris likely caused the squat switch to become inoperative. Because the deployment of thrust reversers requires a valid signal from this switch, the loss of the signal caused the thrust reversers to stow automatically. This malfunction likely triggered the electronic engine control (EEC) to transition to a forward thrust schedule, increasing engine power to near takeoff levels. This unexpected increase in power contributed to the loss of directional control and the subsequent runway excursion. There were no fatalities reported in the incident.