N2116B

On Monday, September 6, 1993, at 1140 eastern daylight time, a home built Smith Sidewinder, N2116B, owned, operated, and piloted by John J. Jewett of Wheelersburg, Ohio, struck a deer on short final for runway 25 at the Point Pleasant Airport, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and subsequently landed short of the runway. The airplane was destroyed by a ground fire. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The cross country flight originated from Minford, Ohio, and was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The pilot stated, "On short final I saw two deer 125 to 150 ft to the right of the runway. After they disappeared from view under the right wing I thought I was past them. They evidently spooked and started to run. While in ground-effect (approx 6-10 ft AGL) the nose of the aircraft pitched downward rapidly as I felt a slight bump. A quick rearward pull on the 'stick' almost got a full recovery. The main wheels touched the dirt lightly but the nosewheel dug into the dirt 12 ft short of the blacktop. It [the nosewheel] broke off, and the plane slid 310 ft. to a stop." The pilot stated that about two minutes after the airplane came to rest, he saw smoke coming from the airplane. He stated that the airplane was "slowly" consumed by fire.

Examination of the accident site revealed ground marks about 30 feet before the approach end of runway 25. (See attached diagram). The ground marks went up onto the runway and continued down the runway about 340 feet where they came to rest at the airplane wreckage. The airplane was consumed by a post-impact ground fire. No injured deer was found on or near the airport.