October 18, 2010, Titusville, Fla., Piper PA-28-161 Warrior

According to the flight instructor, the flight departed for a night cross-country with a student pilot in the left seat and a student pilot in the rear seat. After completing a full-stop landing, they taxied back to the runway to complete additional pattern work. As the student pilot began to rotate the airplane during takeoff roll, the flight instructor "saw an animal directly in front of the airplane on the centerline" and grabbed the flight controls in an effort to "miss the animal."

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, December 01, 2010 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

During a night takeoff with student pilots, the flight instructor swerved to avoid an animal (later identified as a deer) on the runway, resulting in a "bang" and a loose left rudder pedal with no brake pressure.
After performing low passes, the control tower confirmed the left landing gear was not in its normal position.
During the subsequent landing rollout, the left wing struck the ground as the left landing gear had separated, causing substantial damage to the left wing spar.

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As the student pilot began to rotate the airplane during takeoff roll, the flight instructor “saw an animal directly in front of the airplane on the centerline” and grabbed the flight controls in an effort to “miss the animal.” He heard a “bang” as the airplane passed over what was later identified as a deer. The flight instructor stated he then noticed the left rudder pedal was “looser” than normal and no brake pressure was observed in the left toe brake.

After a few low passes and confirmation from the control tower that the left landing gear was not in its “normal position,” the flight instructor decided to land the airplane. During landing rollout, the left wing struck the ground and the airplane came to rest on the runway. The left landing gear had separated, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing spar.