# NTSB ATL01LA090: Schleicher ASW-20C, N9HK, Etowah, TN, July 21, 2001

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: July 21, 2001, 13:25 local (18:25 UTC)
- Place: Etowah, TN
- Coordinates: 35.329715, -84.520797 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.3297&lon=-84.5208&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report June 3, 2002
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Parties: FAA FSDO-03
- NTSB case key (mKey): 53235
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL01LA090
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53235/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL01LA090

## Probable cause

The loss of thermal lift which resulted in a forced landing and subsequent in-flight collision with static wires.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- Forced landing, cruise - normal
  - weather condition - no thermal lift (cause)
- Forced landing, descent - emergency
- In flight collision with object, emergency descent/landing
  - object - wire,static (contributing factor)

## Analysis

According to the pilot, while returning to Chilhowee Glider Port and thermal lifting was lost. The glider collided with a power line as the pilot maneuvered for an emergency landing. No mechanical problems with the glider were reported by the pilot.

## Factual narrative

On July 21, 2001, at 1325 central daylight time, a Schleicher ASW-20C glider, N9HK, registered to a private owner, collided with a static wire and subsequently the ground during a forced landing in a field in Etowah, Tennessee. The personal flight was operated by the commercial pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot was not injured, and the glider sustained substantial damage. The glider departed Chilhowee Glider Port in Benton, Tennessee, at 1230.

After departing on tow, the pilot flew around the area for about an hour. While returning to the glider port at 2,350 feet MSL, the pilot encountered a light but steady sink. After five minutes of searching for usable lift, the sink continued, and the pilot maneuvered the glider at minimum sink speed and searched for a field for landing. During descent over a house and power lines, the glider sank into the power lines. The glider's right wing struck a wire, and the glider subsequently nosed into the ground.

Examination of the wreckage revealed damage to the nose, and the tail was separated. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the glider.

## Aircraft

- Registration: N9HK (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: Schleicher ASW-20C
- Category: Glider
- Serial number: 20631
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Registered owner: Gary Carter
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection: Annual, May 5, 2001
- Departed: 92A, Benton, TN
- Destination: 92A, Benton, TN
- Airport: 92A, Chilhowee Gliderport, runway 030, 2,600 × 200 ft, grass/turf

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 44; injuries: none; commercial; last flight review April 22, 2000; seat: center; flight hours: 709 total, 319 in this make and model, 709 as pilot in command

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observed at: CHA, 30 nm away

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20010721017279A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010721017279A), Jul 21, 2001: Schler ASW20C, Etowah, TN, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot departed on tow from the chilhowee gliderport (reisman field) in a local contest at approximately 1425 on Saturday, July 21, 2001. He flew…

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.

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