Cessna 421C accident near Gillette, Wyoming, December 11, 1999
On December 11, 1999, a Cessna 421C, registered N3912C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gillette, Wyoming (Campbell County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The collision with a deer on the runway during a night landing. A factor was the dark night.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 11, 1999
- Place
- Gillette, Wyoming · Campbell County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 421C · all 421Cs on the register
- Registration
- N3912C · no longer on the register · serial 421C-0139
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During landing roll, after conducting a visual approach during dark night conditions, the airplane struck a deer on the runway. No preventative measures had been taken by the airport authority, other than listing as an obstruction the possibility of deer and antelope on the runway.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all; 85 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 1,770 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,271 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 27, 1999; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,450 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO520L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RAP Rapid City SD at 10:45 pm
- Destination: GCC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16, 7,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 250° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from GCC, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.