- Date
- November 26, 1994, 12:10 local (19:10 UTC)
- Place
- Alamogordo, NM
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7020PGlaser-Dirks DG-600
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941126048849A
- Case key
- 19311
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 inadvertent stall.
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 sailplane stalled after the aircraft encountered moderate to severe turbulence as the pilot attempted to reposition to a lower ridge for better lifting conditions. The sailplane recovered in a level attitude, but one wing tip struck a tree and the aircraft settled into the trees until impact with the ground.
Factual narrative
On November 26, 1994, at 1210 mountain standard time, a Glaser- Dirks DG-600 sailplane, N7020P, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while maneuvering near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight.
According to the pilot, the sailplane departed in tow at approximately 1130, and was released at an altitude of 9,100 feet. The winds kept blowing the sailplane closer to the ridge, so the pilot elected to reposition to a lower ridge. Control was lost when the sailplane encountered moderate to severe turbulence within a few hundred yards from the ridge. The pilot added that the sailplane entered a one and a half turn spin to the right.
The aircraft recovered in a level attitude. One wing tip struck a tree and the aircraft settled into the trees until impact with the ground. The wreckage was located on the windward side of the Sacramento Mountains at the 8,600 foot level. The accident site was located on the Alamogordo VOR 086 degree radial at 10 miles.
The experimental category sailplane came to rest on the 35 degree slope, on a measured heading of 018 degrees. The pilot exited the aircraft and hiked down the rough terrain for four and a half hours to a nearby dirt road where he was picked up by a hunter and transported to a hospital.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7020P
- Reported as
- Glaser-Dirks DG-600
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 6-6
- Airframe hours
- 460
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Averill, Clyde
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 2, 1994 · 4 hours before
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
- 68
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 11,222 total · 2 in this make and model · 9,500 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 30 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 18,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HMN
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.