- Date
- September 15, 1989, 18:30 local (Sep 16, 1989, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Buena Vista, CO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3458Let L-13
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 10, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890915037729A
- Case key
- 17777
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
A premature release of the glider tow line by the glider pilot and his failure to maintain sufficient airspeed, while maneuvering back toward the runway, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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 plt was giving a passenger a glider ride. The flt was launched from a 9000 ft rwy (rwy 15) with an auto tow in wind that was from 300 deg at 4 KTS. A witness rprtd the initial climb after takeoff seemed normal until the plt released the glider at about 300 ft AGL. The plt then began a level left turn with increasing bank. Subsequently, the glider pitched down & crashed after completing about 300 deg of turn. Impact occurred on an inclined bank as the glider was in an extreme nose down attitude.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3458
- Reported as
- Let L-13
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 174216
- Airframe hours
- 680
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Chuck Gibbs
- Registered owner
- Robin M Gibbs
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 13, 1989 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- 7V1
- Destination
- 7V1
- Airport
- 7V1 · Buena Vista, runway 15, 9,000 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 44
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 2,442 total · 10 in this make and model · 2,300 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 4 knots, gusting 6
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
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 N3458 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.