- Date
- July 4, 1993, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chester, VT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N164SSBurkhart Grob Speed Astir II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930704021939A
- Case key
- 8782
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 inadequate inflight planning and an in flight encounter with a downdraft while on final approach.
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 reported that he attempted to return to the airport after a local soaring flight. He encountered a 'sudden heavy sink' and impacted trees near a field located about two miles from the airport.
Factual narrative
On July 4, 1993, about 1300 hours eastern daylight time, N164SS, a Grob Speed Astir II glider, registered to Louis Groundal, Newtown, Connecticut, was destroyed after impacting trees during landing near Chester, Vermont. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The local personal flight originated from Springfield, Vermont, and was conducted under 14 CFR 91.
According to the pilot;
"After about one hour of soaring, attempts to return to airport to land [were] hampered by sudden heavy sink. Terrain consisted of trees and [lacked] appropriate off field landing sites, except a pond and one small very rough field (1.5 to 2 miles from airport). Attempted to land glider in field, but on final approach heavy sink put glider in a tree near the edge of the field."
No mechanical malfunctions were reported.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N164SS
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob Speed Astir II (SPEED ASTI)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 4020
- Airframe hours
- 220
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Louis Groundal
- Registered owner
- Louis Groundal
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 12, 1992 · 64 hours before
- Departed
- VSF · Springfield, VT
- Destination
- VSF
- Airport
- VSF · Hartness State
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 251 total · 63 in this make and model · 233 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LEB, 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.