# Accident 19990711008899A: Schempp-Hirth VENTUS B/16.6, Hobbs, NM, July 11, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 11, 1999, 17:30 local time
- Place: Hobbs, NM
- Airport: Industrial Airpart Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.7305° N, 103.1596° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.7305&lon=-103.1596&mi=10
- Aircraft: N176V, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N176V-1999-11-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schempp-Hirth VENTUS B/16.6 (registry code 3802061, https://openairdocs.org/model/schempp-hirth-ventus-b-16-6) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99LA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA117) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990711008899A

## Narrative

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

ACFT LANDED SHORT OF INTENDED LANDING AREA, STRUCK FENCE POST, AND GROUND LOOPED. (-23) THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCIDENT REPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, STATE OF NEW MEXICO,  OFFICER ERNEST GARCIA : "ON JULY 11, 1999 AT APPROX. 1900 HOURS, I WAS ADVISED OF A DOWNED GLIDER ON STATE ROAD 83 AT INTERSECTION WITH COUNTY ROAD 102. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE SCENE, I OBSERVED A WHITE GLIDER FACING WEST WITH ITS TAIL END FACING SOUTH. THE GLIDER WAS CRACKED IN HALF BEHIND THE WING. THE PILOT IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS  MARK SAUNDERS OF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA. HE STATED HE WAS FLYING EASTBOUND AND HAD TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON STATE ROAD 83. AS HE WAS TURNING THE GLIDER TO LAND WESTBOUND, IT STALLED AND THE LEFT WING TOUCHED THE GROUND. THE REST OF THE PLANE SPUN AROUND. THE FRONT END COLLIDED INTO A FENCE. THE REAR END OF THE GLIDER COLLIDED INTO A FENCE POLE."^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

## 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 DEN99LA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99LA117), Jul 11, 1999: Schempp-Hirth Ventus B/16.6 (N176V), Hobbs, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning. Factors were the loss of thermal lift, the subsequent stall/spin, and the fence post that he impacted.

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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