- Date
- August 16, 2020, 14:54 local (18:54 UTC)
- Place
- Frankenmuth, MI
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Prior to flight
- Aircraft
- N334BAEvektor Aerotechnik L13
- Defining event
- Prior to flight: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20200816013249A
- Case key
- 101800
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 stow the speed brake prior to attempting takeoff.
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 reported that following a landing and back-taxi in a motor glider, he failed to stow the speed brake prior to attempting a subsequent takeoff. During the takeoff attempt, the glider would not climb out of ground effect. The motor glider departed the end of the runway and impacted terrain which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N334BA
- Reported as
- Evektor Aerotechnik L13 (SEH)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 940517
- Built
- 1994
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 66G · Frankenmuth, MI
- Destination
- 66G · Frankenmuth, MI
- Airport
- 66G · Wm 'Tiny' Zehnder Field, runway 09, 2,500 × 100 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 55
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 9, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB 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.