- Date
- June 26, 1993, 14:07 local (19:07 UTC)
- Place
- Ionia, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4101MBurkhart Grob G103
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930626020489A
- Case key
- 15747
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 in command's failure to maintain the proper glidepath.
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
While making a short landing to avoid another glider on the runway ahead, the pilot touched down just short of the mowed grass strip. Landing in the tall grass on the wet, soft ground, the left wing tip went down, and the aircraft ground looped to the left. While ground looping, the fuselage was damaged just forward of the vertical fin.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4101M
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G103
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3796
- Airframe hours
- 1,467
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- B & N Leasing Co., doing business as Benz Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- B & N Leasing Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 15, 1993 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- Y70
- Airport
- Y70 · Ionia County Airport, runway 27, 3,700 × 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 452 total · 34 in this make and model · 335 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 21 knots, gusting 26
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GRR, 21 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 N4101M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.