# Accident 20050325004519A: Glsdks DG600, Van Horn, TX, March 25, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 25, 2005, 16:00 local time
- Place: Van Horn, TX
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.0333° N, 104.7333° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.0333&lon=-104.7333&mi=10
- Aircraft: N787T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N787T-2005-09-19) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Glaser-Dirks DG 600 (registry code 3802555, https://openairdocs.org/model/glaser-dirks-dg-600) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GLSDKS DG600
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,400 total, 500 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DFW05CA096](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW05CA096) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050325004519A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT ENCOUNTERED AN AREA WITH 1,000 FOOT PER MINUTE SINK RATE DURING A GLIDER FLIGHT FROM MARFA TO VAN HORN, TEXAS, AND COULD NOT GET OUT OF THE AREA BEFORE HE HAD DESCENDED TO AN ALTITUDE THAT REQUIRED AN OFF FIELD LANDING, AND SELECTED A SITE 600 FEET LONG BY 150 FEET WIDE. ON DOWNWIND HE SPOTTED UTILITY LINES ON THE APPROACH END, WHICH CALLED FOR A STEEPER APPROACH. ON FINAL HE SAW A STEEL PIPE FENCE LINE AT THE FAR END OF THE FIELD, AND DIVERTED TO AN ALTERNATE FIELD TO AVOID THE OBSTACLES. THE ALTERNATE SITE WAS A ROUGHER SURFACE WITH VEGETATION AND STONES. AT ABOUT ONE FOOT OFF THE GROUND, HIS LEFT WING CAUGHT A CACTUS AND SPUN HIM TO THE LEFT. THE RIGHT WING SCRAPED THE GROUND AND THE MAIN LANDING GEAR MOUNTING WAS DAMAGED BY THE SIDE LOADS WHEN IT TOUCHED DOWN. ANOTHER CACTUS CRACKED THE CANOPY AND THE FUSELAGE WAS DAMAGED FORWARD AND AFT OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR, BECAUSE OF THE SIDE LOADING. THERE WAS NO INJURY TO THE PILOT. HE WAS WEARING A LAP AND SHOULDER HARNESS AND HAD A PARACHUTE AND AN OXYGEN SYSTEM. THERE WAS NO BALLAST WATER LOADED FOR THIS FLIGHT AND THERE WAS NO DRAG CHUTE INSTALLED ON THIS AIRCRAFT. HE WAS PARTICIPATING IN AN ANNUAL GLIDER WAVE CAMP CONDUCTED AT MARFA, TEXAS.

## 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 DFW05CA096](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW05CA096), Mar 25, 2005: Glaser-Dirks DG 600 (N787T), Kent, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's misjudgement of distance and altitude during a cross-country soaring flight. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the landing.

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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