- Date
- March 14, 1992, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lock Haven, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N12CGLet L-13
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920314006219A
- Case key
- 11770
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
A tow rope that broke at low altitude.
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 was departing on runway 27 for a local pleasure flight. During the towed takeoff, the tow rope broke at 220 feet above ground level. The pilot cleared the tow plane by making a right turn and then turned back to the left to the departure field. Due to obstructions near the runway, the pilot elected to land on the grass on the left side of the paved runway. After touchdown, the glider struck a mound of dirt which destroyed the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N12CG
- Reported as
- Let L-13
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 174525
- Airframe hours
- 2,717
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Harry C Samuel
- Registered owner
- Harry C Samuel
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 6, 1991 · 30 hours before
- Airport
- LHV · W. T. Piper Mem., runway 27, 3,500 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 74
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 3 in this make and model · 10,000 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.