Carroll County, Ohio

No one was injured Wednesday night when a small, single-engine plane struck a deer during takeoff at the Carroll County Airport.

Reports of the crash were made to the Ohio State Highway Patrol dispatch in New Philadelphia around 7:30 p.m.

Dispatchers indicated that two people were on board the 1959 Cessna at the time of the crash and that the plane came to a stop in a field off the runway.

Late Wednesday evening, a NEWS9 crew at the scene made contact with the pilot of the plane and the owner of the plane who was the passenger.

The two said they flew from the Canton-Akron area, refueled and were taking off to head back home.

Tom Erb just bought the plane and is not able to drive it until he gets his license so Michael Bantz was flying the plane.

"We made it about a third of the way up and we were just lifting off and heard a thump, thump. We did see deer running across in front of us and a couple of seconds later I said 'We hit a deer' and I pulled the throttle back and the engine was running fine. We pulled in here and parked and called 911," said Bantz.

Erb said this was not how he expected his first flight to go, but managed to laugh it off.

"I've loved aviation all my life. You know my kids are all grown up and I finally tried to fulfill my dream of being a full-scale pilot and this isn't going to deter me," said Erb.

The men were picked up by a friend and made the drive home Wednesday night.

The plane sustained heavy damage and is in the hands of the Federal Aviation Administration until an investigation is complete.

The airport opened back up to other planes around 9:30 p.m.