- Date
- June 11, 2006, 15:34 local (21:34 UTC)
- Place
- Buena Vista, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N48CWRolladen-Schneider LS-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 3, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20060611016009A
- Case key
- 63908
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 maintain aircraft control resulting in an inadvertent stall/mush. Contributing to the accident was the downdraft.
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 had been soaring for about 4 hours when he decided to return to the airport. The AWOS (automated weather observation system) had been indicating that the wind was generally from the south-southeast at 10 to 18 knots. As the pilot got closer to the airport, AWOS indicated the wind was from 240 degrees and greater than 20 knots, then 250 degrees at 20 knots. When the pilot had descended to 700 feet agl (above ground level), he encountered a "strong sink." He said that he lost 400 feet in 12 seconds (2,000 fpm descent) and there was a barn, aircraft, and vehicles in his flight path. He decided to make a 180-degree turn in an attempt to land in a field west of the airport. The pilot rolled out of the turn at 30 feet agl. At 15 feet agl, the glider stalled and landed hard on rough, uneven terrain. The landing gear was torn off and the fuselage was buckled.
Factual narrative
On June 11, 2006, at 1534 mountain daylight time, a Rolladen-Schneider GMBH, N48CW, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during an off-airport landing at Buena Vista, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant on board the airplane, was seriously injured. The flight originated from Buena Vista at 1106.
The pilot said he had been soaring for about 4 hours when he decided to return to the airport. The AWOS (automated weather observation system) had been indicating that the wind was generally from the south-southeast at 10 to 18 knots. As the pilot got closer to the airport, AWOS indicated the wind was from 240 degrees and greater than 20 knots, then 250 degrees at 20 knots. When the pilot had descended to 700 feet agl (above ground level), he encountered a "strong sink." He said that he lost 400 feet in 12 seconds (2,000 fpm descent) and there was a barn, aircraft, and vehicles in his flight path. He decided to make a 180-degree turn in an attempt to land in a field west of the airport. The pilot rolled out of the turn at 30 feet agl. At 15 feet agl, the glider stalled and landed hard on rough, uneven terrain hard. The landing gear was torn off and the fuselage was buckled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48CW
- Reported as
- Rolladen-Schneider LS-3
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3196
- Airframe hours
- 1,126
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2005
- Departed
- 7V1 · Buena Vista, CO
- Destination
- 7V1 · Buena Vista, CO
- Airport
- 7V1 · Central Colorado Regional
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
- 55
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2005
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 930 total · 233 in this make and model · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 14 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.55 inHg
- Observed at
- MYP, 22 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.