- Date
- September 13, 2013, 15:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Sussex, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N650DPRolladen-Schneider LS 6
- Defining event
- Enroute: Loss of lift
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 13, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- FAA report
- 20130913022199A
- Case key
- 88086
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 improper selection of an off-airport landing site, and his subsequent failure to maintain clearance from trees during a crosswind landing in gusty wind conditions.
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
The pilot stated that he was aloft over a ridge for 4 hours before the glider experienced a loss of thermal lift. He departed the ridge to the lee side towards a valley with fields in which he intended to land. While on final approach for landing, the glider's upwind wing encountered a gust of wind and subsequently impacted a row of trees before coming to rest in a field; resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or anomalies of the glider that would have precluded normal operation. He stated that the accident may have been avoided had he remained within gliding distance of a landing site upwind of the ridge in order to avoid lee-side turbulence and sink. The pilot further stated that he overflew several adequate landing sites, but chose to continue in hopes of reaching an airport or a field further from the ridge. As a result, the glider lost altitude and airspeed, which left it "vulnerable to strong gusts."
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he was aloft over a ridge for 4 hours before the glider experienced a loss of thermal lift. He departed the ridge to the lee side towards a valley with fields in which he intended to land. While on final approach for landing, the glider's upwind wing encountered a gust of wind and subsequently impacted a row of trees before coming to rest in a field; resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or anomalies of the glider that would have precluded normal operation. He stated that the accident may have been avoided had he remained within gliding distance of a landing site upwind of the ridge in order to avoid lee-side turbulence and sink. The pilot further stated that he overflew several adequate landing sites, but chose to continue in hopes of reaching an airport or a field further from the ridge. As a result, the glider lost altitude and airspeed, which left it "vulnerable to strong gusts."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N650DP
- Reported as
- Rolladen-Schneider LS 6 (C)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 6054
- Airframe hours
- 1,221
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dunning Robert L
- Registered owner
- Dunning Robert L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 30, 2013
- Departed
- 1N7 · Blairstown, NJ
- Destination
- 1N7 · Blairstown, NJ
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
- 46
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- June 15, 2013
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 898 total · 76 in this make and model · 858 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.70 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- FWN, 3 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 4, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.0 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.