# Accident 20160424024999A: Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G103 TWIN ASTIR, Tucson, AZ, April 24, 2016 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: April 24, 2016, 15:00 local time - Place: Tucson, AZ - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 32.2650° N, 111.1236° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2650&lon=-111.1236&mi=10 - Aircraft: N40880, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N40880-2022-10-01) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G103 TWIN ASTIR (registry code 1660202, https://openairdocs.org/model/burkhart-grob-flugzeugbau-g103-twin-astir) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BURKHART GROB FLUGZEUGBAU G103 TWIN ASTIR - Reported engine: NONE NONE - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 1 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 42 in this make and model, 2 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA16CA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA205) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160424024999A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. NARRATIVE AS OUTLINED BY PILOT, THIS WAS THE SECOND FLIGHT OF THE DAY, WITH ONE FLIGHT ENDING 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT OF THIS REPORT. BOTH FIGHTS WERE VFR-LOCAL-PLEASURE FLIGHTS. THE FLIGHT OF THIS REPORT WAS INITIATED WITH A 3000? AGL TOW, WHERE 600? OF ADDITION ALTITUDE WAS GAINED OVER THE BLACK HILLS (LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 1 ¾ STATUTE MILES SOUTH AND ½ STATUTE MILES WEST OF EL TIRO RUNWAY 35 THRESHOLD). THE NEXT LEG WAS A DESTINATION BEING A RED PATCH OF EXCAVATION (RED MINE) IN SEARCH OF LIFT APPROXIMATELY 3 1/3 STATUTE MILES TO THE WEST, WHICH WAS ABORTED AT APPROXIMATELY 5000? MSL IN HEIGHT, APPROXIMATELY ½ STATUTE MILES SHORT OF THE RED MINE ACCIDENT REPORT FOR N40880 ON 4/24/16 2 OF 2 2 BY INITIATING A TURN TO RETURN TO THE GLIDERPORT AS FLYING DOWNWIND AT WELL ABOVE 4500? MSL, WHILE SEARCHING FOR LIFT ALONG THE WAY. AFTER APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES OF FLIGHT, SINK WAS ENCOUNTERED AS INDICATED WITH THE VARIOMETER PEGGED AT 10 KNOTS DOWN. IN A MATTER OF SECONDS APPROXIMATELY 1500? OF ALTITUDE WAS LOST WITH LITTLE OR NO CHANGE IN FORWARD MOTION. THE INTENT TO LAND ON RUNWAY 35L WAS CONVEYED TO EL TIRO BY RADIO, SINCE A NORMAL PATTERN FOR RUNWAY 26R ON THAT DAY WAS JUGDED AS BEING OUT OF GLIDE SLOPE, AS A SECOND CONDITION OF SIMILAR SINK WAS ENCOUNTERED WITH THE VARIOMETER PEGGED AT 10 KNOTS DOWN. WHILE DROPPING IN THE FINAL SINK, THE REMAINING 1000 FEET OF ALTITUDE WAS LOST IN A FEW SECONDS AND A MAYDAY CALL OF ??..880 LANDING OUT?.? WAS RADIOED TO EL TIRO SHORTLY BEFORE IMPACT, APPROXIMATELY LOCATED NEARLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLIGHT PATH LOCATED NEARLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLIGHT PATH APPROXIMATELY ½ STATUTE MILES WEST OF THE EL TIRO RUNWAY 35L THRESHOLD. IN SPITE OF FLYING AT A NORMAL GLIDE PATH WITH A TYPICAL SAFETY FACTOR AND AN ALTERED RUNWAY SELECTED, A RUNWAY WAS NOT MADE IN THE WEATHER CONDITIONS OF SINK WITH DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THE IRREGULAR TERRAIN AND FOLIAGE UPON LANDING. THE CRASH HAD IMPACT AT MID-HEIGHT IN ONE OF THE PALO VERDE TREES THAT RAN CONTINUOUSLY ALONG THE EDGE OF A DRY CREEK, LOCATED NEARLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLIGHT PATH. AFTER LANDING IN THE SANDY-FAR BANK OF THE DRY CREEK, THE GLIDER GROUND LOOPED TO END UP WITH 180 DEGREES OF ROTATION. DAMAGE TO THE GLIDER INCLUDED THE RIGHT WING BRAKING OFF CLEAR OF THE SPAR CONNECTION AT FUSELAGE, THE TAIL BROKEN OFF AT THE FUSELAGE NEAR THE FRONT OF THE VERTICAL STABILIZER (HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS UNDAMAGED), AND A FRACTURED FRONT CANOPY. WHILE A CLUB SHIP CIRCLE ABOVE CONVEYING BY RADIO THAT PASSENGERS OF THE CRASHED GLIDER WERE WALKING NEAR THE GLIDER, A CLUB MEMBER WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SITE ON FOOT WITHIN ABOUT 10 MINUTES TO PROVIDE RESCUE. THE RESCUER, PILOT, AND PASSENGER WALKED ABOUT ¾ MILE BACK TO THE EL TIRO CLUBHOUSE FROM THE CRASH SITE. THE PILOT SUSTAINED NO OBSERVABLE INJURIES AND HIS VITAL SIGNS WERE VERIFIED BY THE EMT THAT ARRIVED AT THE CLUBHOUSE SHORTLY AFTER WE DID. THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED A HEAD LACERATION, APPROXIMATELY ½? LONG, AND WAS TRANSPORTED TO UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER (UMC), TO RULE OUT HEAD INJURY, AS A PRECAUTION. THE PASSENGER COMPLIED AND AFTER MEDICAL EXAMINATION, OBSERVATION, AND TREATMENT (ONE STAPLE TO THE HEAD LACERATION) WAS CLEARED AND RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL AT 22:30. ## 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 GAA16CA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA205), Apr 24, 2016: Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau G103 Twin Astir (N40880), Marana, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The glider's loss of lift as a result of unfavorable wind conditions for glider operations, consequently resulting in a collision with trees. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.