20250912013119I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Let L-23 SUPER BLANIK · Jacksonville, FL · September 12, 2025

Date
September 12, 2025 · 15:45 local
Place
Jacksonville, FL
Airport
Herlong Recreational
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N393BA
Reported as
Let L-23 Super Blanik
Reported engine
NONE NONE
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Student
Pilot’s flight hours
19 total11 in this make and model3 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Student pilot and solo occupant of the aircraft was landing a glider in the sod north of runway 7 at kheg. There was a glider and tow plane on the north side of the sod and another glider that had just landed in the center of the sod. This left the right 1/3 of the sod to land on. Due to a 10-15 knot quartering headwind, the pilot misjudged his landing point and landed short of the intended touchdown point, striking the control box for the PAPI lights at the approach end of runway 7. The contact with the control box damaged the wing tip cap of the glider and caused minor damage to the control box.

As the FAA filed it

STUDENT PILOT AND SOLO OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS LANDING A GLIDER IN THE SOD NORTH OF RUNWAY 7 AT KHEG. THERE WAS A GLIDER AND TOW PLANE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE SOD AND ANOTHER GLIDER THAT HAD JUST LANDED IN THE CENTER OF THE SOD. THIS LEFT THE RIGHT 1/3 OF THE SOD TO LAND ON. DUE TO A 10-15 KNOT QUARTERING HEADWIND, THE PILOT MISJUDGED HIS LANDING POINT AND LANDED SHORT OF THE INTENDED TOUCHDOWN POINT, STRIKING THE CONTROL BOX FOR THE PAPI LIGHTS AT THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 7. THE CONTACT WITH THE CONTROL BOX DAMAGED THE WING TIP CAP OF THE GLIDER AND CAUSED MINOR DAMAGE TO THE CONTROL BOX.