- Date
- February 9, 2008, 10:35 local (17:35 UTC)
- Place
- Alamogordo, NM
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N223WPBurkhart Grob G-103A Twin II Acro
- Defining event
- Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20080209012659A
- Case key
- 67544
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 unsuitable terrain for landing. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's encounter with turbulence and the loss of visual contact with the tow plane.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The glider encountered turbulence at approximately 200 feet above ground level. The glider gained altitude such that the pilot lost sight of the tow plane. The pilot decided to release the glider and attempt a right turn back to the airport to land. He stated, "the altitude was too low to complete the turn, so I leveled the wings and landed the glider off-field." Upon landing, the left wing contacted the terrain and the glider ground looped, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and horizontal stabilizer.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot's statement, the glider was being towed aloft when it encountered turbulence at approximately 200 feet above ground level. The glider gained altitude such that the pilot lost sight of the tow plane. The pilot decided to release the glider and attempt a right turn back to the airport to land. The pilot stated, "The altitude was too low to complete the turn, so I leveled the wings and landed the glider off-field." Upon landing, the left wing contacted terrain and the glider ground looped. Examination of the glider revealed the rear fuselage was broken in front of the vertical stabilizer, the nose gear sheared off, and the horizontal stabilizer was bent at the connection to the vertical stabilizer. The pilot and single passenger were not injured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N223WP
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G-103A Twin II Acro
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3735
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Christian Nickel
- Registered owner
- White Sands Soaring Association
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KALM · Alamogordo, NM
- Airport
- ALM · Alamogordo-White Sands Regiona
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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Flight hours
- 631 total · 631 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.