# Accident 20020815021879A: Scwzer SGS126B, Hobbs, NM, August 15, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 15, 2002, 15:45 local time
- Place: Hobbs, NM
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.6875° N, 103.2169° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.6875&lon=-103.2169&mi=10
- Aircraft: N696U, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N696U) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schweizer SGS 1-26B (registry code 8050118, https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-1-26b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SCWZER SGS126B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 116 total, 13 in this make and model, 9 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW02LA237](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA237) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020815021879A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 08/15/02, PILOT AMY PENCE (CERTIFICATE NUMBER 463472775) WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHILE OPERATING SCHWEIZER GLIDER, REGISTRATION NUMBER N696U. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED FIVE MILES EAST OF HOBBS INDUSTRIAL AIRPARK NEAR HOBBS, NM. THE PILOT REPORTED ENCOUNTERING LIGHT RAIN AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 4300-FT. AGL. SHE THEN ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT AND BEGAN TO LOS ALTITUDE RAPIDLY. SHE CONDUCTED SEVERAL TURNING MANEUVERS IN SEARCH OF THERMAL ACTIVITY. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A FENCE, APPROXIMATELY 4 FEET TALL, MADE OF STEEL PIPE AND 1/2 INCH STEEL CABLE. THE FENCE ARRESTED THE AIRCRAFT IN MIDAIR. THE PILOT SUFFERED A BROKEN NOSE AND LACERATIONS TO HER FOREHEAD. (.4) ON AUGUST 15, 2002, APPROXIMATELY 1545 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26B GLIDER, N696U, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT STRUCK A FENCE DURING A FORCED LANDING TO A FIELD NEAR HOBBS, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE GLIDER, SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE GLIDER WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE HOBBS SOARING SOCIETY INC., OF HOBBS. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE LOCALFLIGHT DEPARTED FROM THE HOBBS INDUSTRIAL AIRPARK, NEAR HOBBS, APPROXIMATELY 1330. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT APPROXIMATELY 5 TO 10 MILES EAST OF THE AIRPORT, THE GLIDER WAS "THERMALING" AT 8,000 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL). THE GLIDER ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT WITH A RAINSHOWER, AND SUBSEQUENTLY, QUICKLY LOST ALTITUDE. UNABLE TO LOCATE A THERMAL TO GAIN ALTITUDE, THE PILOT INITIATED A FORCED LANDING TO A FIELD. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND IN THE FIELD, THE GLIDER STRUCK A WIRE FENCE. THE GLIDER CAME TO REST UPRIGHT AND TANGLED IN THE FENCE WIRE. THE ELEVATION AT THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS 3,700 FEET MSL. ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR, WHO RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE, BOTH WING SPARS WERE BENT AND THE CANOPY WAS DESTROYED.

## 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 FTW02LA237](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA237), Aug 15, 2002: Schweizer SGS 1-26B (N696U), Hobbs, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's inadvertent flight into adverse weather conditions which resulted in the loss of thermal lift. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

## Other reports on N696U (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19890506020429I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19890506020429I), May 6, 1989: Scwzer SGS126B (N696U), Hobbs, NM, Minor damage. Engine driven winch vapor locked and quit while under tow. Glider landed hard from low altitude.

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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