Cessna 172P accident near Pinckneyville, Illinois, March 4, 2022
On March 4, 2022, a 1985 Cessna 172P, registered N99104, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Pinckneyville, Illinois (Pinckneyville-Du Quoin airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The airplane’s collision with a deer on the runway during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 4, 2022 · cases in 2022
- Place
- Pinckneyville, Illinois · Pinckneyville-Du Quoin · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P, built 1985 · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N99104 · registry record · serial 17276403
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and student pilot were completing stop-and-go landings at night at an uncontrolled airport. During the second landing, a deer collided with the left rear fuselage and the empennage, then the airplane yawed left. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and taxied off the runway without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left horizontal stabilizer.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Wildlife encounter (non-bird) during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Effect on equipment
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Contributed to outcome
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 725 hours in all; 74 in this make and model; 66 in the last 90 days; 39 in the last 30 days; 560 as pilot in command; 471 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 17, 2020
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 31 hours in all; 22 in this make and model; 3.5 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 2.2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,208.5 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 22, 2021
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 1,228 hours total
- Operator: Southern Illinois University
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 3,999 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 040° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 6:52 pm from KMDH, 13 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KMDH 040052Z 04009KT 10SM CLR 08/01 A3029 RMK AO2 SLP258 T00830011
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Photographs from the investigation 1 picture from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on April 6, 2022. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 1 page · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N99104 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk 20,686 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 27,303 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Pinckneyville/Du Quoin Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,118 since 1982 · 251 in the last ten years
- Illinois 8,069 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN22LA136.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.