- Date
- May 10, 2002, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Union, IL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N169LMGlaser-Dirks-Flugzeubau DG-100G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration West Chicago FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020510010159A
- Case key
- 54739
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 aircraft control during the aero-tow takeoff. Factors to the accident were the high wind velocity and the gusting wind condition.
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 lost control of the glider during the initial takeoff phase of an aero-tow launch. The pilot reported, "When I was ready to launch, I gave the wing-runner the signal to lift the wing and he did. I [signaled] the tow plane to begin take-off. At the start of the take-off roll, I gave a little right rudder input as the glider was veering left of the intended path. Almost immediately I saw the nose of the glider was moving very erratically. I decided to attempt to abort the launch by pulling the release." The pilot stated that after the tow-rope release was made, "... the plane was a few feet above the ground and it was out of control." The pilot reported the glider impacted the terrain on the north side of the runway. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems or malfunctions with the glider. A weather observation station, located at the De Kalb Taylor Municipal Airport (DKB), about 16 nautical miles (nm) from the accident site on a 213 degrees magnetic heading, recorded the wind conditions approximately 8 minutes after the accident as 260 degrees magnetic at 15 knots gusting to 18 knots.
Factual narrative
On May 10, 2002, at 1400 central daylight time, a Glaser-Dirks-Flugzeubau DG-100G, N169LM, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage during an aborted takeoff on runway 27 (2,300 feet by 100 feet, dry/turf) at the Sky Soaring Airport (55LL), Union, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot reported serious injuries. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot's written statement, the accident occurred during an aero-tow launch. The pilot reported, "When I was ready to launch, I gave the wing-runner the signal to lift the wing and he did. I [signaled] the tow plane to begin take-off. At the start of the take-off roll, I gave a little right rudder input as the glider was veering left of the intended path. Almost immediately I saw the nose of the glider was moving very erratically. I decided to attempt to abort the launch by pulling the release." The pilot stated that after the tow-rope release was made, "... the plane was a few feet above the ground and it was out of control." The pilot reported the glider impacted the terrain on the north side of the runway. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems or malfunctions with the glider.
A weather observation station, located at the De Kalb Taylor Municipal Airport (DKB), about 16 nautical miles (nm) from the accident site on a 213 degrees magnetic heading, recorded the weather conditions approximately 8 minutes after the accident as:
Observation Time: 1408
Wind: 260 degrees magnetic at 15 knots gusting to 18 knots
Visibility: 10 statute miles
Sky Condition: Sky Clear
Temperature: 17 degrees Celsius
Dew Point: -13 degrees Celsius
Pressure: 30.30 inches-of-mercury
Aircraft
- Registration
- N169LM
- Reported as
- Glaser-Dirks-Flugzeubau DG-100G
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- E1696135
- Airframe hours
- 1,055
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard Allen Mendralla
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 26, 2002
- Departed
- 55LL · Union, IL
- Destination
- 55LL · Union, IL
- Airport
- 55LL · Sky Soaring, runway 27, 2,300 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 62
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Last flight review
- June 20, 2001
- Seat
- Single
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 15 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.29 inHg
- Observed at
- DKB, 16 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 14, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 382 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.