Embraer 120RT accident near Charleston, West Virginia, December 7, 2000
On December 7, 2000 at about 1:38 am local time, a Embraer 120RT, registered N504AS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Charleston, West Virginia (Yeager Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 18 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Deer on the runway. Factors included reduced visibility due to nighttime lighting and light snow conditions, breaches in the perimeter fence, increased seasonal deer activity, and the rural location of the airport.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 7, 2000 · about 1:38 am local time
- Place
- Charleston, West Virginia · Yeager Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 18 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer 120RT
- Registration
- N504AS · no longer on the register · serial 120278
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
An Embraer 120RT struck two deer on the runway during a night landing at a tower-operated, rural, mountaintop airport. At the time, skies were overcast, and light snow was falling. The tip of a propeller blade from the number 2 engine separated, and punctured the airplane's fuselage. A runway inspection had commenced shortly before the accident, but the inspection vehicle had not yet reached the area where the accident occurred. There were two breaches in the perimeter fence. Perimeter fence maintenance inspections had been conducted monthly, but were later scheduled to be increased during fall and winter seasons due to higher volumes of deer and greater deer activity. A program to clear the fence line of all brush and weeds, and remove all trees and brush inside the fence, was scheduled to begin during the spring of 2002. Deer elimination procedures within the fence perimeter were in effect; however, as a result of the accident, they were expanded to include deer near the fence. At the time of the accident, a yearlong wildlife management study was scheduled to commence in August 2001.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,510 hours in all; 2,817 in this make and model; 235 in the last 90 days; 76 in the last 30 days; 1,890 as pilot in command; 287 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 25,353 lb
- Seats: 33
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW-118 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA
- Destination: CRW
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 6,302 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:29 am from CRW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 15 |
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.