- Date
- June 8, 2003, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Moriarty, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N850BGBurkhart Grob G102 Standard III
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Albuquerque FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030608036179A
- Case key
- 57155
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 improper flare, and his failure to recover from the subsequent bounced landing. Contributing factors include the sudden wind shift and the tail wind.
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
After completing a left hand turn from base to final for runway 26, the pilot felt a sudden wind shift and noticed a groundspeed increase of approximately 5 to 10 knots. The glider landed hard, bounced into the air about 10 feet above the runway, and stalled. It struck the runway in a nose down attitude collapsing both wings, and separating the fuselage from the empennage.
Factual narrative
On June 8, 2003, at 1600 mountain daylight time, a Burkhart Grob G102 Standard III glider, N850BG, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Moriarty Airport (0E0), Moriarty, New Mexico. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant on board, received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan had been filed for this local personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Moriarty, at approximately 1530.
One witness stated that, as the glider approached the runway it "stalled." The glider's left wing "dipped," and the glider "dropped." When the glider struck the approach end of the runway, it "broke apart," and slid approximately 70 feet.
According to the pilot's statement, after completing a left hand turn from base to final for runway 26, he felt a sudden wind shift and noticed a groundspeed increase of approximately 5 to 10 knots. The glider landed hard, and bounced into the air about 10 feet above the runway. The glider stalled, and struck the runway in a nose down attitude. Both wings collapsed and the fuselage was separated from the empennage. The pilot sustained serious back injuries. The pilot also stated that the winds were westerly at 10 to 12 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N850BG
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G102 Standard III
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 56385
- Airframe hours
- 705.2
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John G. Sullivan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 26, 2002 · 11.3 hours before
- Departed
- 0E0 · Moriarty, NM
- Destination
- 0E0 · Moriarty, NM
- Airport
- 0E0 · Moriarty, runway 26, 7,700 × 75 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 71
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- August 10, 2001
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,496 total · 530 in this make and model · 2,343 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 0 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 125 ft overcast
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.