# Accident 20150623008509A: Schempp-Hirth VENTUS-2C, Hobbs, NM, June 23, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 23, 2015, 15:30 local time
- Place: Hobbs, NM
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.7794° N, 103.2222° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.7794&lon=-103.2222&mi=10
- Aircraft: N172VC (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: SCHEMPP-HIRTH VENTUS-2C
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 960 total, 190 in this make and model, 36 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA15CA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA133) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150623008509A

## Narrative

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

ON JUNE 23, 2015, AT 1730 CMT, A SCHEMPP-HIRTH VENTUS-2C GLIDER, BEARING REGISTRATION NUMBER N172VC, REGISTERED TO THE PILOT, ENCOUNTERED A STRONG DOWNDRAFT OF APPROXIMATELY 8-10 KNOTS THAT :"SWEPT" THE PILOT IN.  PILOT CHECKED THE SPOILERS AND THEY WERE CLOSED AND LOCKED.  THE AIRSPEED WAS SUFFICIENT ALL THE WAY THROUGH.  THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND, GROUND LOOPED, AND THE TAILBOOM AND CANOPY WERE DAMAGED.  THE FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED IN HOBBS, NM.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT WAS PART OF A RACING CONTEST FOR A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.  VISUAL METEROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, AND THE PILOT WAS NOT SERIOUSLY INJURED.

## 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 GAA15CA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA133), Jun 23, 2015: Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2C (N172VC), Hobbs, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper compensation for gusty wind conditions which resulted in impact with terrain short of the runway.

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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