- Date
- June 22, 1991, 14:45 local (19:45 UTC)
- Place
- Boerne, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Other
- Aircraft
- N6MNRolladen-Schneider LS-6
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 10, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910622026499A
- Case key
- 23364
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 release at a higher altitude prior to looking for thermal activity and the pilot's poor in-flight planning. Factors were the downdraft and the tall grass encountered during 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 glider pilot released at a low altitude and immediately commenced a search for thermal activity. Upon determining that no thermal activity was present, an attempt to return to the airport was initiated. Due to a sink condition and the low altitude the glider was unable to reach the field and conducted an off airport landing. Touchdown occurred in a right skid as a result of the right wing contacting five foot tall weeds.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6MN
- Reported as
- Rolladen-Schneider LS-6
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 6070
- Airframe hours
- 199
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gene Sprague
- Registered owner
- Gene Sprague
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 30, 1991 · 5 hours before
- Airport
- NONE · Boerne, runway 5, 3,000 × 60 ft, asphalt
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
- 66
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Flight hours
- 1,260 total · 18 in this make and model · 1,170 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 100 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.