VH-CWC Piper PA-28-140
Cherokee
(c/n (c/n 28-20753)
Delivered to Central Western Aviation Services at Nyngan in July 1965,
VH-CWC achieved a
remarkable
feat for an aircraft in Australia by colliding with a deer while
landing at Niall Station,
near Charters Towers, on July 20, 1996. Kangaroos or
cattle are common problems on rural
airstrips
right across Australia, but deer - not so much. It turns out that
around Niall Station, it
is the introduced deer that
pose a serious hazard to aviators . By the
time of the accident,
-CWC’s time in Nyngan was
well in the past . When David Carter saw it on
27 April 1976,
it was based at Toowoomba and carrying markings for Rockhampton Grammar
School.
The Cherokee recovered from its 1996 run-in with the deer and was still
in Queensland in May
2016, registered to an owner at
Gayndah.