- Date
- April 10, 2005, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Henderson, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N19HGSchleicher ASW19b
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 7, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Greensboro FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050410005929A
- Case key
- 61310
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's misjudgment of the landing area which resulted in overshooting the touchdown point. A factor was the in-flight encounter with weather (No thermal lift).
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that while out soaring on a recreational flight, the glider began to lose lift at approximately 2,500 feet. As the pilot attempted to regain thermal lift, the glider developed a high sink rate. As the glider continued to descend the pilot was unable to regain lift, and made plans to make a forced landing. During the forced landing in a grass field, he overshot the touchdown point and collided with a tree. No flight control malfunctions were reported by the pilot. Post examination of the glider revealed the outboard section of the left wing was broken off of the wing assembly. The weather at the nearest reporting facility Raleigh Durham, North Carolina reported at 14:53: 10-statue miles visibility, sky clear, temperature 22 Celsius, dewpoint 4 Celsius, barometric setting 30.05, winds 09 degrees at 7 knots.
Factual narrative
On April 10, 2005, at 1500 eastern daylight time, a Schleicher ASW19B, N19HG, register to and operated by a private pilot, lost lift and collided with a tree while made a forced landing in a private field in Henderson, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provision of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual metrological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The glider sustained substantial damage and the pilot was not injured. The local flight departed Henderson, North Carolina, at 1300 on April 10, 2005.
The pilot stated while out soaring on a recreational flight, the glider began to lose lift at approximately 2,500 feet. As the pilot attempted to regain thermal lift he encountered a high sink rate. As glider continued to descend, the pilot was unable to regain lift, and selected a field for a forced landing. According to the pilot. during the forced landing to a grass field, he overshot the intended touchdown point and collided with a tree. No flight control malfunctions were reported by the pilot.
Post-accident examination of the glider revealed the outboard section of the left wing was broken off of the wing assembly. The weather at the nearest reporting facility Raleigh Durham, North Carolina reported at 14:53: 10-statue miles visibility, sky clear, temperature 22 Celsius, dewpoint 4 Celsius, barometric setting 30.05, winds 09 degrees at 7 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N19HG
- Reported as
- Schleicher ASW19b
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- ASW19B
- Airframe hours
- 647
- Engine
- Aero Engines
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kenneth L Butler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 2004 · 28 hours before
- Departed
- Ball Field, NC
- Destination
- Henderson, NC
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- January 19, 2005
- Flight hours
- 617 total · 128 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 9° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- RDU
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.