Piper PA-28-235 N4447D

Summary

On 4 November 2001 at about 23:40 local time, a Piper PA-28-235 registered N4447D was involved in an accident near Paonia, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 November 2001 at 23:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Paonia, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

North Fork Valley (7V2)

Coordinates

38.8603, -107.5908

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-235

Registration

N4447D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gunnison → Eagle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

DEN02LA007

Nobody was injured.

impact with a deer during initial climb immediately following rotation, resulting in the separation of the left main landing gear assembly.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, and his passenger were on a sightseeing flight. While en route, the pilot decided to do a touch-and-go landing at a nearby airport. The pilot stated that he did not see any deer on the runway. However, just after rotation, a deer appeared in his path, and the airplane struck the deer with its left wing, tearing off the left main landing gear assembly. He continued to his final destination, where he landed the airplane, the airplane's left wing tip struck the ground, and the airplane slid off of the north side of the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.