Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml
Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 10:50:49 -0400
Message-ID: <redirect-1741331@logan.com>
From: "Richard H. Helms" <rhhelms@cox.net>
Subject: Deer Strike
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   Returning from Newport News to Manassas, VA at dusk last night our
360 (outback gear) struck a 3 foot tall fawn near the centerline of the
runway 16L (the larger runway).  Memory can be very tricky but both me
and my not-exciting-about-flying-to-begin-with spouse felt the encounter
occurred very shortly after touch down.  In fact I felt we had run over
a smaller animal or had a flat tire, until the roll quickly smoothed out
and we did not swerve appreciably.  At the time of impact we were nose
high and in the worse possible configuration to see directly down the
runway.  
   The impact was totally confined to the port side, inner gear door.
The mangled hinge and some delaminated pieces of the door remain.  The
inner door hydraulic cylinder shaft end is bent.  The controller said
the ground crew that removed the fawn did not mention finding any
aircraft parts and after I checked the runway, taxiway and ramp it still
was not located.
   Since there was impact to the prop, the wing leading edge or the port
side flap which was fully extended, and the apparent absence of blood on
the runway where the animal came to rest and very little on the
aircraft, I believe that unless it was doing a low crawl across the
runway, we were not the first to hit it.  We were very lucky that more
damage did not occur.  
   The fawn was at the north end of the runway, a mile north of the
nearest opening in the fenced area.  Traffic was landing and departing
to the south all day (Clearly, deer will go against the traffic
pattern).  In an effort to attract regular airline commuter service and
put in use a now two year old terminal building, 3/4's of Manassas has a
six foot tall fence around it.  Since constructing the fence and
installing vehicular and pedestrian access gates two years ago, much
more effort has been put in to keeping humans off the airport than
animals.  

Hollis Helms
Oak Hill, VA