# Accident 20210422022289A: Schempp-Hirth VENTUS C, Perry, SC, April 22, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 22, 2021, 12:45 local time
- Place: Perry, SC
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.6443° N, 81.3486° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6443&lon=-81.3486&mi=10
- Aircraft: N571RD, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N571RD-2021-07-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schempp-Hirth VENTUS C (registry code 3802065, https://openairdocs.org/model/schempp-hirth-ventus-c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SCHEMPP-HIRTH VENTUS C
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA21LA395](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA395) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210422022289A

## Narrative

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

FLIGHT WAS INTENDED TO BE A CROSS COUNTRY CONTEST. AT APPROXIMATELY 1900? AGL PILOT FELT A SIGNIFICANT SURGE OF LIFT AND RELEASED THE TOW. HE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN FINDING THE LIFT, AND PROCEEDED TO SEARCH OVER GROUND THAT APPEARED FAVORABLE TO GENERATE THERMALS. FINDING NONE AFTER 5 SEARCH CIRCLES, HE PROCEEDED TO HEAD TOWARDS THE AIRPORT IN CASE HE WOULD NEED TO LAND. A SHORT TIME LATER HIS ALTITUDE WAS APPROXIMATELY 1000? AGL AND HE WAS APPROXIMATELY 1.8 STATUE MILES FROM THE AIRPORT. PILOT ENCOUNTERED SIGNIFICANT DOWNDRAFT OF SINKING AIR, WHICH REDUCED HIS ALTITUDE TO APPROXIMATELY 600? AGL BY THE TIME I WAS APPROXIMATELY 1.5 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT. AT THIS POINT THE TIME AND DISTANCE TO THE AIRPORT WAS NOT PRACTICAL AS THE PATH WOULD TAKE THE GLIDER OVER NOTHING BUT TREES OF 50-75 FOOT HEIGHT. THE FIELD THAT WAS ATTEMPTED TO USE WAS SURROUNDED BY TREES AND WAS APPROXIMATELY A 500X600 FOOT RECTANGULAR AREA. I TRIED TO ENTER THE FIELD AS LOW AND SLOW AS POSSIBLE, BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO REACH THE GROUND BEFORE THE GLIDER IMPACTED THE TREES AT THE NORTHERN EDGE AND WESTERN PORTION OF THE FIELD. PILOT CONFIGURED THE GLIDER WHEN ENTERING THE FIELD FOR LANDING. PILOT CONSCIOUSLY DECIDED TO ENTER THE TREES VERSUS ATTEMPTING TO TURN TO THE EAST, AS HE STATED WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY HAVE STALLED AND SPUN INTO THE GROUND.

## 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 ERA21LA395](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA395), Apr 22, 2021: Schempp Hirth Ventus C (N571RD), Wagener, SC, substantial damage. Probable cause: Impact with trees during a forced landing in atmospheric lift conditions that were insufficient to maintain flight. Contributing was the pilot’s delayed decision to return to the airport.

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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