- Date
- August 15, 2002, 15:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Hobbs, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N696USchweizer SGS 1-26B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 1, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020815021879A
- Case key
- 55495
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 inadvertent flight into adverse weather conditions which resulted in the loss of thermal lift. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
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 pilot reported that approximately 5 to 10 miles east of the airport, the glider was "thermaling" at 8,000 feet msl. The glider encountered a downdraft with a rainshower, and subsequently, quickly lost altitude. Unable to locate a thermal to gain altitude, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. While attempting to land in the field, the glider struck a wire fence. The glider came to rest upright and tangled in the fence wire.
Factual narrative
On August 15, 2002, approximately 1545 mountain daylight time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26B glider, N696U, was substantially damaged when it struck a fence during a forced landing to a field near Hobbs, New Mexico. The private pilot, sole occupant of the glider, sustained serious injuries. The glider was registered to and operated by the Hobbs Soaring Society Inc., of Hobbs. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight departed from the Hobbs Industrial Airpark, near Hobbs, approximately 1330.
The pilot reported that approximately 5 to 10 miles east of the airport, the glider was "thermaling" at 8,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The glider encountered a downdraft with a rainshower, and subsequently, quickly lost altitude. Unable to locate a thermal to gain altitude, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. While attempting to land in the field, the glider struck a wire fence. The glider came to rest upright and tangled in the fence wire. The elevation at the accident site was 3,700 feet msl.
According to the FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, both wing spars were bent and the canopy was destroyed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N696U
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 1-26B
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 311
- Airframe hours
- 1,701
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hobbs Soaring Society Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 31, 2002 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- HOB · Hobbs, NM
- Destination
- HOB
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
- 39
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Last flight review
- September 22, 2001
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 116 total · 13 in this make and model · 56 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 108 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.86 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.