- Date
- July 8, 2015, 15:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Silver Springs, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5839VSchweizer SGS 1 26B
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Windshear or thunderstorm
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20150708011789A
- Case key
- 91529
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 improper decision making in adverse weather conditions, which resulted in an encounter with weather and impact with terrain.
Findings · 4
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
The pilot of the glider reported diverting from his original destination to an alternate airport due to an approaching thunderstorm from the west that he could see. The pilot chose to stay aloft to see which direction the weather was moving. When the thunderstorm started moving east toward the pilot he decided to land. The pilot reported that while he was on final approach for the runway, he was hit by a gust front, the wind shifted and he was blown to the north side of the runway and landed on a dirt road. During the landing roll the glider impacted a fence post and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. A review of local weather data showed nearby convective activity capable of producing significant convective gust fronts. The thunderstorm hazard was forecasted by the National Weather Service prior to the flight, which included a special weather statement for the accident area advising that strong outflow gusts up to 50 miles per hour were possible. The pilot reported receiving a weather forecast the morning of the flight that included the possibility for afternoon thunderstorms. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the glider reported diverting from his original destination to an alternate airport due to an approaching thunderstorm from the west that he could see. The pilot chose to stay aloft to see which direction the weather was moving. When the thunderstorm started moving east toward the pilot he decided to land. The pilot reported that while he was on final approach for the runway, he was hit by a gust front, the wind shifted and he was blown to the north side of the runway and landed on a dirt road. During the landing roll the glider impacted a fence post and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. A review of local weather data showed nearby convective activity capable of producing significant convective gust fronts. The thunderstorm hazard was forecasted by the National Weather Service prior to the flight, which included a special weather statement for the accident area advising that strong outflow gusts up to 50 miles per hour were possible. The pilot reported receiving a weather forecast the morning of the flight that included the possibility for afternoon thunderstorms. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5839V
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 1 26B (B)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 272
- Built
- 1964
- Airframe hours
- 479
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Air race/show · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 5, 2015
- Departed
- MEV · Minden, NV
- Destination
- MEV · Minden, NV
- Airport
- SPZ · Silver Springs, runway 23, 6,001 × 75 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
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 30, 2014
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,746 total · 44 in this make and model · 4,652 as pilot in command · 54 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 19 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- KRNO, 25 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 14, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.7 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.