# Accident 20030919022369A: Sphrth CIRRUSSTD, Lone Pine, CA, September 19, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 19, 2003, 14:00 local time
- Place: Lone Pine, CA
- Airport: Lone Pine Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.5894° N, 118.0233° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.5894&lon=-118.0233&mi=10
- Aircraft: N71DA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N71DA-2014-12-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schempp-Hirth STANDARD CIRRUS (registry code 38019VE, https://openairdocs.org/model/schempp-hirth-standard-cirrus) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SPHRTH CIRRUSSTD
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX03LA291](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA291) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030919022369A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE PILOT HAD LEFT HOME AROUND 0430 IN THE MORNING FOR LONE PINE AIRPORT. PILOT ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT AROUND 1030 AM. THE PILOT PUT THE GLIDER TOGETHER AND HAD NOT DONE A POST ASSEMBLY INSPECTION OR A PREFLIGHT INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE SPOILERS WERE NOT CONNECTED IN THE ASSEMBLY. WHEN THE GLIDER WAS BEING TOWED, AFTER TAKEOFF, THE TOW PILOT CALLED BACK THAT THE SPOILERS OF THE GLIDER WAS OPEN. THE GLIDER PILOT DID NOT RESPOND. THE TOW PILOT NOTED THAT THE GLIDER WAS FLYING ERRATICALLY. THE TOW PILOT TRIED TO GAIN ALTITUDE, AND ONCE THERE WAS ENOUGH ALTITUDE, THE TOW PILOT TURNED BACK TOWARDS THE LONE PINE AIRPORT. AT THAT TIME, THE GLIDER PILOT RELEASED FROM THE TOW PLANE AND STATED OVER THE RADIO THAT HE HAD A SPOILER PROBLEM AND THAT HE WAS GOING TO TRY TO GET BACK TO THE AIRPORT. THE GLIDER HIT A HIGH TENSION LINE, WITH HIS RIGHT WING TIP. THE GLIDER WAS THEN SPUN AROUND AND LANDED FLAT BELOW THE POWER LINES. THE PILOT WAS DEAD.

## 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 LAX03LA291](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX03LA291), Sep 19, 2003: Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus (N71DA), Lone Pine, CA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's inadequate assembly of the glider and improper preflight inspection, which resulted in an inadvertent deployment of the spoilers. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain obstacle…

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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