- Date
- July 12, 2001, 18:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ionia, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N140BGBurkhart Grob G 103 Twin II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 6, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010712017029A
- Case key
- 52727
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 not maintaining clearance from the tall grass during his recovery from the bounced landing. A factor was the tall grass.
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 sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain. The pilot reported no injuries. The pilot stated, "Upon touch down the aircraft bounced, I closed the spoilers to save the landing, this caused an increase in speed, burning up available landing area. In forcing the aircraft to the ground, I caught the right wing-tip in tall grass causing the aircraft to ground loop. No injury to pilot was involved." The pilot stated that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure.
Factual narrative
On July 12, 2001, about 1800 eastern daylight time, a Burkhart Grob G 103 Twin II, N140BG, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage to its vertical and horizontal stabilizers and to its rear fuselage on impact with terrain during landing roll at Ionia County Airport (Y70), near Ionia, Michigan. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight departed from Y70 at 1550 and the glider was landing at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated:
After completing a 2 hour soaring flight, I approached landing area on a
N-W heading. Upon touch down the aircraft bounced, I closed the spoilers
to save the landing, this caused an increase in speed, burning up available
landing area. In forcing the aircraft to the ground, I caught the right wing-tip
in tall grass causing the aircraft to ground loop. No injury to pilot was
involved.
The pilot stated that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N140BG
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G 103 Twin II
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 33902-K-140
- Airframe hours
- 3,345.1
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Benz Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 10, 2001 · 72 hours before
- Departed
- Y70 · Ionia, MI
- Airport
- Y70 · Ionia County
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
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- September 26, 2000
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 101 total · 43 in this make and model · 87 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- LAN, 20 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.
Other investigations on N140BG · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.