- Date
- April 6, 2013, 15:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Foscoe, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N94DKPhoenix Air U15
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20130406005399A
- Case key
- 86625
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 motorized glider’s encounter with clear air turbulence, which resulted in substantial damage to the empennage.
Findings · 2
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 of the motorized glider, he was flying at an altitude of 6,000 feet mean sea level (msl) en route to his home airport when he noted an episode of turbulence on the avionics logs for his flight path. He climbed to an altitude of 6,500 feet msl to avoid the turbulence and continued to his destination; however, the glider subsequently encountered severe turbulence that lasted for a few seconds. The pilot reported that during that time he heard a cracking noise in the rear of the glider, which he attributed to a loose quart of oil in the baggage compartment. He continued the flight and landed at his home airport uneventfully. While he was cleaning the glider after the flight, the pilot noted substantial damage to the empennage, which included a 12-inch crack to the composite structure under the right side of the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation before the turbulence encounter; further, he stated that he noted no controllability problems with the glider after the turbulence encounter.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot of the motorized glider, he was flying at an altitude of 6,000 feet en route to his home airport when he noted an episode of turbulence on the avionics logs for his flight path. He climbed to an altitude of 6,500 feet and continued to his destination; however, the glider subsequently encountered severe turbulence that lasted for a few seconds. The pilot heard a cracking noise and thought it was a quart of oil loose in the baggage compartment. He continued the flight and landed at his home airport uneventfully. While cleaning the glider after the flight, the pilot noted substantial damage to the empennage, which included a 12-inch crack to the composite structure under the right side of the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation prior to the turbulence encounter and noted that the glider remained controllable as normal after the turbulence encounter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94DK
- Reported as
- Phoenix Air U15
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 14
- Airframe hours
- 121
- Engine
- Rotax 912 ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Palmetto Phoenix Associates, LLC
- Registered owner
- Palmetto Phoenix Associates, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 5, 2012
- Departed
- MKJ · Ruiral Retreat, VA
- Destination
- CUB · Columbia, SC
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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 12, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 122 total · 60 in this make and model · 61 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots, gusting 15
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 6, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.9 MB 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.