- Date
- July 5, 2011, 16:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hugguenot, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N41ZXSchleicher ASW-28
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing area overshoot
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 20, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110705015639A
- Case key
- 81007
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 attain the proper touchdown point during a tailwind landing.
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
According to the pilot he experienced a loss of lift while soaring and performed an off-field landing to a field that was surrounded by powerlines and trees. He said that he landed further down the field than anticipated and the glider overran the runway, impacted a fence, crossed a road, and impacted another fence, causing substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot further reported that the flight log revealed a tailwind of approximately 13 knots on the final leg of the approach, and stated that there was no mechanical malfunction with the glider.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the glider reported that about 2 hours 30 minutes into the flight, he was unable to locate a thermal and began losing lift. He located a field that he felt was long and wide enough to land in; however, the field was surrounded by powerlines and trees. He elected to conduct his approach from the southwest over the tree line. During the landing flare, he landed further down the field than anticipated; the glider overran the runway, impacted a fence, crossed a road, and impacted another fence, causing substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot further reported that the flight log revealed a tailwind of approximately 13 knots on the final leg of the approach, and stated that there was no mechanical malfunction with the glider.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N41ZX
- Reported as
- Schleicher ASW-28
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 28010
- Airframe hours
- 561
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Unknown
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2011
- Departed
- N82 · Wurstboro, NY
- Destination
- N82 · Wurstboro, NY
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 59
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- July 26, 2009
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 267 total · 13 in this make and model · 22 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- KFWN, 12 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 24, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 379 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.