- Date
- August 20, 2010, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Madisonville, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N710RJSchempp-Hirth VENTUS-2B
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 16, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100820046839A
- Case key
- 77057
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 failure to maintain control of the glider while landing in a crosswind.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated he was unable to maintain enough lift in his glider to return back to the airport. He opted to perform an off-airport landing in a field about two miles short of the runway. During the landing, with a 90-degree crosswind that was approximately 15 to 18 knots, the glider ground-looped and collided with a tree. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the glider.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated he was unable to maintain enough lift in his glider to land back at the airport, so he attempted to land in a field about 1.9 miles short of the runway. During the landing, in a 90 degree crosswind that was approximately 15 to 18 knots, the pilot ground looped the glider and collided with a mesquite tree. The tail boom and horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the glider.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N710RJ
- Reported as
- Schempp-Hirth VENTUS-2B
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 148
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hollenberg Richard A
- Registered owner
- Hollenberg Richard A
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 89TA · Houston, TX
- Destination
- None · Madisonville, TX
- Airport
- None · None
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
- 79
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 4,730 total · 540 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 29, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 442 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.