# NTSB IAD99LA030: WSK PZL Krosno KR-03A, N210C, Kutztown, PA, February 10, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 10, 1999, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC) - Place: Kutztown, PA - Coordinates: 40.519966, -75.769714 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5200&lon=-75.7697&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 23, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 45770 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=IAD99LA030 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45770/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD99LA030 ## Probable cause was the in-flight encounter with thermal sink over unsuitable terrain for landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, maneuvering - weather condition - no thermal lift (cause) - terrain condition - none suitable (cause) - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown ## Analysis The flight instructor flew the glider earlier in the day and experienced '...a lot of lift...' and expected similar conditions for the dual instructional flight. He and the student were released off tow, encountered lift, and climbed to 4,000 feet. There, the glider experienced almost constant sink, as indicated by the variometer, and an off airport landing to hilly terrain was required. The glider experienced a hard landing on ascending terrain. The flight instructor reported 13,481 hours of flight experience, 380 of which was in gliders. ## Factual narrative On February 10, 1999, at 1415 eastern standard time, a WSK PZL-Krosno KR-03A glider, N210C, was substantially damaged during an off airport landing in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The certificated flight instructor was not injured. The dual student pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local instructional flight that originated at the Kutztown Airport (N31), approximately 1350. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. In a written statement, the flight instructor said: "...[he] followed the tow to the north where we encountered lift, to approximately 4,000 feet, after releasing from the tow plane which shortly turned to sink. Turned south toward the airport, and the sink rate was still increasing as we shortened the distance between the airport and us. At times we encountered slight lift but to no avail, we'd enter sink again. Altitude getting critically low, turned and landed the aircraft in a field. No injuries to occupants of glider, when the glider was driven to a hard landing on the lee side of the hill. Wings were level and the glider was still flying when we touched down. (Only wish the landing site was level)." In a telephone interview, the student pilot said: "Before we left he said we'd be out for a long time because there was a lot of lift. He'd already been out and said there was a lot of lift. We were towed over to the mountains where there was a lot of lift and then the weather seemed to change. It just seemed like all we got was sink. We were watching the variometer and it went from a lift situation to a sink situation. [The instructor] said we might have to look for a field to put it down. He took the flight controls and we searched for a place to put it down but all the landing sites looked lame. Then it seemed like, we were down. There were trees coming up and it didn't look like we were going to clear them. We went to the left [of the trees] and were in a level attitude at ground contact. It wasn't stalling or anything. It came to a sudden stop only because we were going uphill, it wasn't level ground." When questioned about how the flight was conducted, the student pilot said: "He's a no-fooling-around guy. He gets up there, he's serious about everything. He's right on the ball, there's never a problem." The flight instructor reported 13,481 hours of flight experience, of which 380 hours were in gliders. Weather reported at Reading, Pennsylvania, 10 miles southwest of Kutztown, at 1345 was: scattered clouds at 20, 000 feet with 40 miles of visibility. The winds were from 320 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 19 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N210C](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N210C-2015-05-06), registration cancelled 2015-05-06, S/N 03-15 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: WSK PZL Krosno KR-03A - Registry model: [WSK Pzl-Krosno KR-03A](https://openairdocs.org/model/wsk-pzl-krosno-kr-03a) (registry code 1130847) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Glider - Serial number: 03-15 - Airframe hours: 817 - Engines: unknown - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Granite Sales Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 5, 1998, 90 hours before - Departed: N31 - Airport: N31, Kutztown Airport, runway 35, 2,500 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; flight instructor, airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: rear; flight hours: 13,481 total, 61 in this make and model, 11,669 as pilot in command, 82 in the last 90 days, 38 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 320° at 12 knots, gusting 19 - Visibility: 40 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 27 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: RDG, 10 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990210001269A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990210001269A), Feb 10, 1999: Trnsqp KR03A, Kutztown, PA, Substantial damage. Experimental glider crashed 3 miles nw of the arpt under unknown circumstances. On February 10, 1999, at 1415 eastern standard time, a wsk pzl-krosno KR-03A… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.