- Date
- August 7, 1995, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Rocksprings, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N307LSchempp-Hirth Ventus A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 3, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950807023699A
- Case key
- 19531
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
Debonding of mylar tape that was used to seal a gap on the elevator, which resulted in inadequate elevator control authority.
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
According to the pilot, as he attempted to accelerate to glide speed, he experienced problems with elevator control. He said he had to apply full elevator before the glider would respond to the control inputs and that it responded very slowly.' The pilot was going to land on a ranch road; however, because of the control problem, he determined it was safer to bail out. The glider impacted the ground in a level attitude, damaging the fuselage, horizontal stabilizer, and canopy. Examination of the glider revealed that mylar tape, which was used as a gap seal for the elevator, had partially separated.
Factual narrative
On August 7, 1995, at 1730 central daylight time, a Schempp-Hirth Ventus A, N307L, was substantially damaged following a loss of control near Rocksprings, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot received minor injuries. The glider was being operated as a personal flight under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated in Uvalde, Texas, at 1345. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the round robin flight.
During a telephone interview with the investigator-in-charge the pilot reported that when he attempted to accelerate to glide airspeed he experienced problems with elevator control. He had to apply full elevator before the glider would respond to control inputs. It also responded "very slowly" to the elevator control inputs. The pilot further reported he was going to land on a ranch road; however, because of the control problem he elected to bail out. The glider impacted the ground in a level attitude damaging the fuselage, horizontal stabilizer, and canopy.
Examination of the glider by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the Mylar tape, which was used as a gap seal for the elevator, had partially separated.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N307L
- Reported as
- Schempp-Hirth Ventus A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 38
- Airframe hours
- 1,425
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Fredrick G. Voltz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 11, 1995 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- UVA · Uvlade, TX
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
- 33
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 6,322 total · 131 in this make and model · 2,500 as pilot in command · 210 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 13 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 100 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.