- Date
- August 16, 2003, 11:05 local (16:05 UTC)
- Place
- Highland, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N302SLLet L-13 Blanik
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - St. Louis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030816020609I
- Case key
- 58566
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 extend the spoilers and his inadvertent use of the flaps during final approach, which resulted in the proper touchdown point being exceeded due to excessive airspeed. A factor to the accident was the dirt mound.
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 overran the end of the runway while landing and impacted a dirt mound. The pilot reported that he was obtaining flight instruction for the addition of a glider rating and the accident occurred during his first solo flight. The pilot stated the flight was uneventful until he turned onto final approach. The pilot reported that he was high on final and had to slip to lose altitude. The pilot stated that during the slip the glider had "picked up some airspeed." The pilot reported that the glider landed "long, fast, and as a result hit the mound at the edge of the airport perimeter dirt road." The pilot stated that several witnesses recalled not seeing the spoilers deployed during the final approach and landing. The pilot surmised that he had mistakenly repositioned his hand on the flap lever and as a result had been raising and lowering the flaps instead of the spoilers.
Factual narrative
On August 16, 2003, at 1105 central daylight time, a LET L-13 Blanik glider, N302SL, piloted by an airline transport pilot, sustained substantial damage when it overran runway 36 (2,692 feet by 200 feet, dry turf) and subsequently collided with a road embankment at Highland-Winet Airport (H07), Highland, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The solo-instructional flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot did not report any injuries. The local flight departed H07 at 1040 and was returning at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot's written statement, he was obtaining flight instruction for the addition of a glider rating and the accident occurred during his first solo flight. The pilot stated the flight was uneventful until he turned onto final approach. The pilot reported that he was high on final and had to slip to loose altitude. The pilot stated that during the slip the glider had "picked up some airspeed." The pilot reported that the glider landed "long, fast, and as a result hit the mound at the edge of the airport perimeter dirt road."
The pilot stated that several witnesses recalled not seeing the spoilers deployed during the final approach and landing. The pilot surmised that he had mistakenly repositioned his hand on the flap lever and as a result had been raising and lowering the flaps instead of the spoilers.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N302SL
- Reported as
- Let L-13 Blanik
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 026442
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- St. Louis Soaring Association
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- H07 · Highland, IL
- Destination
- H07 · Highland, IL
- Airport
- H07 · Highland-Winet Airport, runway 36, 2,692 × 200 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
- 65
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 5, 2003
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 5 in this make and model · 8,000 as pilot in command · 19 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- CPS, 27 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.