- Date
- May 27, 2018, 14:05 local (19:05 UTC)
- Place
- Hammond, IL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1075GZS Delta-Bielsko Wroclaw SZD 36 A Cobra 15
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 18, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180527006089A
- Case key
- 97342
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 loss of directional control during an off-airport landing and his subsequent failure to maintain clearance from power pole guy wires.
Findings · 3
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
According to the glider pilot, while skirting rain showers, he was unable to find lift and made an off-airport landing. The pilot made a straight-in approach to a field and noticed that power line poles lined the west side of the field. He made his approach just east of the poles so that he would have access to a road and could load the glider onto a transport trailer. The glider touched down on the dirt field, drifted toward the power line poles, and the left wing struck a guy wire that ran perpendicular to the poles. The glider sustained substantial damage to the left wing and the left side of the fuselage near the wing root. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had not landed so close to the poles. Further, he should have chosen a field earlier when he had more altitude, circled the field, and landed near the center. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
According to the glider pilot, while skirting rain showers, he was unable to find lift and made an off-airport landing. The pilot made a straight in approach to a field and noticed that power line poles lined the west side of the field. He made his approach just to the east of the poles so that he would have access to a road and could load the glider onto a transport trailer. The glider touched down on the dirt field, drifted toward the power line poles, and the left wing struck a guy wire that ran perpendicular to the poles. The glider sustained substantial damage to the left wing and the left side of the fuselage near the wing root. Per the National Transportation Safety Board, Pilot Aircraft Accident Report, in the recommendation section, the pilot asserted that the accident could have been prevented if he had not landed so close to the poles. Further, he should have chosen a field earlier when he had more altitude, circled the field, and landed near the center. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1075G
- Reported as
- ZS Delta-Bielsko Wroclaw SZD 36 A Cobra 15 (A)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- W-691
- Built
- 1974
- Airframe hours
- 1,042
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 4, 2017
- Departed
- 2K0 · Monticello, IL
- Destination
- Hammond, IL
- Equipment
- None
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
- 71
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- May 6, 2018
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 293 total · 134 in this make and model · 264 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- KDEC, 13 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 29, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.9 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.