What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
On 08/16/2025 at approximately 1330 EDT. A Centrair glider experienced an un-commanded climb at the start of a towed take off roll. The pilot immediately disconnected from the tow plane and attempted to land straight ahead. The aircraft hit the ground in a wings level, nose low attitude, bounced and finally came to rest, just to the right of runway 05. The pilot was able to self-extract himself from the aircraft after the accident. The pilot and several witnesses examined the wreckage and noticed that the aircrafts elevator was not connected to its control rod. The aircraft was severely damaged, and the pilot received serious injuries as a result of this accident. The investigation revealed that the pilot, who is also the privacy data omitted of the aircraft, failed to connect the elevator controls during reassembly of the aircraft from storage. The disconnected elevator was not noticed during the preflight inspection and the flight control check that was performed before take-off gave a false indication that the elevator was connected. The pilot provided a statement attesting that he became distracted during the assembly and failed to connect the elevator.
As the FAA filed it
ON 08/16/2025 AT APPROXIMATELY 1330 EDT. A CENTRAIR GLIDER EXPERIENCED AN UN-COMMANDED CLIMB AT THE START OF A TOWED TAKE OFF ROLL. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY DISCONNECTED FROM THE TOW PLANE AND ATTEMPTED TO LAND STRAIGHT AHEAD. THE AIRCRAFT HIT THE GROUND IN A WINGS LEVEL, NOSE LOW ATTITUDE, BOUNCED AND FINALLY CAME TO REST, JUST TO THE RIGHT OF RUNWAY 05. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO SELF-EXTRACT HIMSELF FROM THE AIRCRAFT AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT AND SEVERAL WITNESSES EXAMINED THE WRECKAGE AND NOTICED THAT THE AIRCRAFTS ELEVATOR WAS NOT CONNECTED TO ITS CONTROL ROD. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED, AND THE PILOT RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES AS A RESULT OF THIS ACCIDENT. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE PILOT, WHO IS ALSO THE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ OF THE AIRCRAFT, FAILED TO CONNECT THE ELEVATOR CONTROLS DURING REASSEMBLY OF THE AIRCRAFT FROM STORAGE. THE DISCONNECTED ELEVATOR WAS NOT NOTICED DURING THE PREFLIGHT INSPECTION AND THE FLIGHT CONTROL CHECK THAT WAS PERFORMED BEFORE TAKE-OFF GAVE A FALSE INDICATION THAT THE ELEVATOR WAS CONNECTED. THE PILOT PROVIDED A STATEMENT ATTESTING THAT HE BECAME DISTRACTED DURING THE ASSEMBLY AND FAILED TO CONNECT THE ELEVATOR.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.