Amateur-built AA-5B accident near Stow, Massachusetts, July 28, 2005
On July 28, 2005 at about 1:50 am local time, a amateur-built AA-5B, registered N28860, was substantially damaged in an accident near Stow, Massachusetts (Minute Man Air Field). It was a personal 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
An inadvertent collision with a deer during the landing roll. A factor was the night lighting conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 28, 2005 · about 1:50 am local time
- Place
- Stow, Massachusetts · Minute Man Air Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-5B
- Registration
- N28860 · no longer on the register · serial AA5B-0567
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the night landing rollout, the pilot observed a deer running toward the runway from left to right. Shortly thereafter, the left wing struck the deer, resulting in substantial damage.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon
- Flight time: 1,818 hours in all; 260 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming 0-360-A4K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BQR Lancaster NY
- Destination: 6B6 Stow MA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.