- Date
- September 20, 1986, 14:35 local (19:35 UTC)
- Place
- Tullahoma, TN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6877Alexander AS-K13
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860920045829A
- Case key
- 7197
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During an automobile tow/launch, the auto experienced a loss of power before the glider reached a safe release altitude. The pilot had steered the glider off of the paved rwy and was unable to return to the rwy. The glider pilot was forced to land in high foliage where substantial damage was sustained to the empennage. The pilot stated that had he remained over the rwy, the possibility of landing in the foliage would have been avoided.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6877
- Reported as
- Alexander AS-K13
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 13149
- Airframe hours
- 485
- Engine
- None NONE, unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- University Of Tennessee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 1986
- Departed
- THA · Tullahoma, TN
- Airport
- THA · Tullahoma, runway 24, grass/turf
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
- 35
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 95 total · 73 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N6877 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.