- Date
- April 27, 2014, 14:40 local (18:40 UTC)
- Place
- Benton, TN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1002ZSchleicher Alexander K 7
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 9, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20140427009459A
- Case key
- 89146
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 distraction with traffic on the runway, and his subsequent failure to retract the air brakes prior to touchdown, which resulted in a hard 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
In a statement to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot of the glider stated that he was on final approach for landing with the air brakes deployed when he observed another glider on the runway. He raised the nose of his glider to clear the other glider, but did not retract the air brakes, which resulted in a hard landing. The pilot sustained serious injuries. Postaccident examination by an FAA inspector revealed minor damage to the glider's tail skid, and no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
In a statement to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot of the glider stated that he was on final approach for landing with the air brakes deployed when he observed another glider on the runway. He raised the nose of his glider to clear the other glider, but did not retract the air brakes, which resulted in a hard landing. The pilot sustained serious injuries. Postaccident examination by an FAA inspector revealed minor damage to the glider's tail skid, and no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1002Z
- Reported as
- Schleicher Alexander K 7
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 984
- Built
- 1961
- Airframe hours
- 3,212
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Chilhowee Soaring Association, Inc
- Registered owner
- Fleming Rachel D
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2013
- Departed
- 92A · Benton, TN
- Destination
- 92A · Benton, TN
- Airport
- 92A · Chilhowee Gliderport, runway 21, 2,600 × 200 ft, grass/turf
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
- 63
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KCHA, 32 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 30, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.6 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.
Other investigations on N1002Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.