Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Brooksville, Florida, January 5, 2008
On January 5, 2008 at about 10:10 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N9896, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Brooksville, Florida (Hernando County airport). 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A deer darting into the path of the airplane during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 2008 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- Brooksville, Florida · Hernando County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N9896 · registry record · serial 32R-7680184
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Just after the Piper PA-32R-300 landed, and the nose wheel touched down on the runway, a deer darted from the grass and collided with the right wing causing substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot was unable to avoid the deer.
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
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Not specified
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › (general) › (general) › Attain/maintain not possible
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 266 hours in all; 153 in this make and model; 54 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LZU Lawrenceville GA
- Destination: BKV
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 03, 5,015 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number NYC08CA084.