Cessna 172N accident near Youngstown, Ohio, February 23, 2004
On February 23, 2004 at about 10:56 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N738EK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Youngstown, Ohio (Youngstown Elser Metro Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 while landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 2004 · about 10:56 pm local time
- Place
- Youngstown, Ohio · Youngstown Elser Metro Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N738EK · no longer on the register · serial 17269918
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the landing flare, the student pilot felt an impact on the right side of the empennage. The student pilot looked back and observed that the airplane had struck a deer, which resulted in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. The student pilot then taxied the airplane uneventfully to the ramp area.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 29 hours in all; 29 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4G4 Youngstown OH at 10:15 pm
- Destination: 4G4
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 10, 4,012 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Sky: overcast at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.