Deer Dead, Plane Wrecked After N. Idaho Collision

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — Two people escaped injury when their plane struck a deer on takeoff at a rural airport in northern Idaho.

Sandpoint-area pilot Jan Lee and his wife were speeding down the runway Thursday and were nearly airborne when a buck emerged from the grass separating the runway from the taxiway.

Lee says, “He just popped up, hit our right wing tip and kind of spun us around.”

The plane, an Alon Aircoupe, slammed into a chain-link fence but both Lee and his wife were able to walk away from the wreck.

The plane was totaled. So was the deer.

Sandpoint police found the antlers 50 feet from the impact site and the head another 50 feet away.

Lee says officials joked with him, “We understand you’ve been hunting deer without a license.”