Primary finding
Probable cause
Deer running onto the runway as the student pilot was landing. A factor relating to the accident was: the soft terrain that was encountered as the pilot was maneuvering to avoid a collision.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
After the airplane touched down during a landing, deer ran onto the runway. The pilot started to abort the landing (go around); however, he reported that the power 'didn't increase fast enough.' He aborted the go-around, but the airplane encountered soft/sandy terrain beside the runway during the roll-out. Subsequently, the nose gear collapsed resulting in structural damage.
Source record
Factual narrative
On January 9, 1996, at 1032 central standard time, a Piper PA-38- 112, N9840T, collided with terrain during an aborted takeoff at the Charles R. Johnson Airport, Port Mansfield, Texas. The student pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was being operated by Flight Training Systems, Inc., dba Southwind, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed for the solo cross country instructional flight. During interviews, conducted by the investigator-in-charge, and on the enclosed Pilot/Operator Report, the operator and pilot reported the following. The flight departed Brownsville, Texas, with en route stops planned for Edinburg, and Port Mansfield, Texas. After touching down on runway 12, deer appeared out of the bushes and ran onto the runway. The pilot reported applying power; however, "the power didn't increase fast enough" and the pilot aborted the takeoff. During the rollout on the grassy area along the side of the runway, the nose gear collapsed in the soft sand and the aileron struck a sand bank. Structural damage was also sustained by the engine firewall and the engine mount. -