# Accident 19980421007399A: Let L23SUPERBLAN, Pipersville, PA, April 21, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 21, 1998, 14:20 local time
- Place: Pipersville, PA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.4306° N, 75.1003° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.4306&lon=-75.1003&mi=10
- Aircraft: N298BA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N298BA-1999-06-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Let L-23 SUPER BLANIK (registry code 1360308, https://openairdocs.org/model/let-l-23-super-blanik) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LET L23SUPERBLAN
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,200 total, 50 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98LA097](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA097) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980421007399A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

LOST SIGHT OF AIRPORT. TRIED FOR AN OPEN AREA. STALLED. HIT A TREE AND SIDE OF A BARN. (-23) MR. SUMMA, THE PIC OF GLIDER N298BA, STATED AFTER SOARING FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS, HE LOST SIGHT OF VAN SANT AIRPORT, GOT LOWER AND LOWER LOOKING FOR A FIELD TO LAND IN, AND SLOWED THE GLIDER. IN A PANIC HE STALLED THE GLIDER, WHICH HIT A TREE, CAREENED AND HIT THE SIDE OF A BARN AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE GLIDER SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE; MR. SUMMA FRACTURED HIS LEG; AND THE PASSENGER WAS UNINJURED.                                (.4) THE PILOT HAD BEEN SOARING FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS WHEN HE LOST SIGHT OF HIS INTENDED LANDING SITE. AS HE LOST ALTITUDE, HE CONTINUED TO SLOW THE GLIDER WHILE LOOKING FOR A FIELD TO LAND IN. JUST PRIOR TO TOUCH DOWN, HE STALLED THE GLIDER, WHICH STRUCK A TREE, THEN HIT THE SIDE OF A BARN BEFORE COMING TO REST UP RIGHT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC98LA097](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98LA097), Apr 21, 1998: Let L-23 Super Blanik (N298BA), Pipersville, PA, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's misjudgment of distance and altitude, while on an approach to an off-airport landing area, which resulted in a lack of airspeed and/or altitude to reach the intended landing area…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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