- Date
- September 29, 1984, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Gregory, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N14420Let L-13
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840929056669A
- Case key
- 12790
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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.
Undershoot
Weather condition - downdraft
Altitude - inadequateCause
Remedial action - not possible
Proper touchdown point - not attained
Analysis
According to the CFI the glider was at about 500 ft AGL on base leg when a downdraft caused the acft to descend and touch down 50 ft short of the rwy.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14420
- Reported as
- Let L-13
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 175114
- Engine
- none NOT INST., unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richmond Soaring Club, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 12, 1984
- Airport
- 69G · Richmond, runway 36, 2,000 × 75 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
- 54
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 929 total · 2 in this make and model · 719 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DTW, 34 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 N14420 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.
NTSB MIA05LA077Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportDeLand, FLThe failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient airspeed during landing, resulting in an inadvertent stall, undershoot and collision with the ground.NTSB CHI85LA247Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportGregory, MIThe glider landed in trees after the spoiler 'popped' open in flt during a towed takeoff. The tow plane released the glider at 300 ft AGL after the spoilers opened. The plt landed without retracting the spoilers. Two FAA inspectors stated that they checked…