- Date
- September 7, 1990, 17:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Memphis, TN
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N21SXSchleicher ASK-21
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900907038499A
- Case key
- 8271
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
An inflight collision with a tree due to misjudging his glidepath.
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 glider pilot had flown for about 1.5 hours and was heading back to the airstrip for landing. He did not maintain sufficient altitude to reach the airstrip, so he elected to land the glider in an open field. The left wing collided with a tree adjacent to the field, and the pilot lost control of the glider. The glider crashed onto the field in a nose low attitude. He reported no mechanical problems with the glider.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N21SX
- Reported as
- Schleicher ASK-21
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 21278
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Memphis Soaring Society, Inc
- Registered owner
- Memphis Soaring Society, Inc
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 17, 1990 · 0 hours before
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 50 in this make and model · 3,400 as pilot in command · 43 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM, 13 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.