# Accident 19990619024129A: Let L13BLANIK, Barstow, CA, June 19, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 19, 1999, 15:00 local time
- Place: Barstow, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.8986° N, 117.0228° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Barstow, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8986&lon=-117.0228&mi=10
- Aircraft: N136AS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N136AS-2015-05-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Let BLANIK L-13 (registry code 1360306, https://openairdocs.org/model/let-blanik-l-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LET L13BLANIK
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 738 total, 561 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA228](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA228) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990619024129A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JUNE 19, 1999, AT 1500 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A BLANIK L-13, N136AS, COLLIDED WITH GROUND OBSTRUCTIONS DURING A OFF-FIELD LANDING 38 MILES EAST OF BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA.  THE GLIDER, OPERATED BY ANTELOPE VALLEY SOARING CLUB, CANOGA PARK, CALIFORNIA, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE.  THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, AND SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS NOT INJURED.  THE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM A PRIVATE AIRSTRIP AT 1230.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT BY THE PILOT, HE WAS ON A CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT TO BAKER, CALIFORNIA, AND ENCOUNTERED A LOSS OF LIFT, WHICH MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE IT TO AN AIRPORT.  THE GLIDER WAS OVER LEVEL TERRAIN AND THE PILOT SELECTED AN OFF-FIELD LANDING POINT LOCATED IN A REST AREA ALONG INTERSTATE I-15.  THE GLIDER IMPACTED A POLE DURING THE LANDING ROLL, CAUSING THE LEFT WING TO SEPARATE FROM THE GLIDER.  THE REST AREA WAS CLOSED AND NO ONE WAS PRESENT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   (-23) ON JUNE 16, 1999, APPROX. 14:00 PSD, A BLANIK L-13 FLIDER DEPARTED BARSTOW-DAGGET AIRPORT WITH AN INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT FOR A CROSSCOUNTRY INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT TO BAKER, CA. ACCORDING TO A STATEMENT PROVIDED BY THE INSTRUCTOR, THE A/C WAS FORCED TO LAND SHORT OF THE DESTINATION DUE TO A LOSS OF LIFT. THE INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT ONCE IT BECAME APPARENT THAT HE COULD NOT MAKE THE AIRPORT, HE SELECTED AN OFF-FIELD LANDING AREA LOCATED IN A REST AREA ALONG INTERSTATE I-15. DURING THE LANDING ROLL OUT, THE GLIDER IMPACTED A POLE CAUSING THE LEFT WING TO SEPARATE FROM THE GLIDER. (.4)DURING A CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE PILOT OF THE GLIDER ENCOUNTERED A LOSS OF THERMAL LIFT.  A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE TO A VACANT, UNATTENDED, INTERSTATE HIGHWAY REST STOP.  THE REST STOP WAS SURROUNDED BY LEVEL TERRAIN.  DURING THE LANDING APPROACH, THE LEFT WING CONTACTED A LIGHT POLE, SHEARING OFF THE WING'S OUTBOARD 6 FEET.

## 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 LAX99LA228](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA228), Jun 19, 1999: Let Blanik L-13 (N136AS), Barstow, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The loss of thermal lift that resulted in a forced landing and the pilot's improper glide path that resulted in a collision with a light pole.

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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