- Date
- June 16, 2024, 15:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Elbert, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N37JGJonker Sailplanes JS3 RES
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- 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
- 20240616007909A
- Case key
- 194481
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 directional control during the landing with a right crosswind.
Findings · 4
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 glider pilot reported that during the approach, the wind shifted 180°, and he amended his pattern to land on runway 17. During touchdown, a right crosswind gust lifted the glider, and the right wing contacted tall grass adjacent to the runway. The glider yawed to the right, and the pilot attempted to correct by applying left rudder and aileron. The glider then yawed to the left, and the left wing contacted the tall grass. The glider spun 180° and came to rest upright, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and left aileron. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident, he was landing the glider on runway 17 with a 12-knot right crosswind and wind gusts of 23 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N37JG
- Reported as
- Jonker Sailplanes JS3 RES
- Category
- Glider, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 03-179
- Built
- 2023
- Airframe hours
- 32.5
- Engine
- Solo RES, electric
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · November 3, 2024
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- CO15 · Kelly Air Park, runway 17/35, 3,800 × 36 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display, Satellite tracking device
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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 24, 2024
- Seat
- Center
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,206 total · 31 in this make and model · 1,140 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 16 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KMNH, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KMNH 162135Z AUTO 18016G20KT 10SM CLR 28/00 A2993 RMK AO2
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 25, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.9 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.