# NTSB LAX02LA261: AB Sportine Aviacija Genesis 2, N422DT, Orland, CA, August 23, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 23, 2002, 16:30 local (23:30 UTC) - Place: Orland, CA - Coordinates: 39.75, -122.166664 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7500&lon=-122.1667&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report September 29, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 55552 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX02LA261 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55552/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA261 ## Probable cause the loss of thermal lift during flight. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - precautionary landing - attempted, pilot in command - weather condition - no thermal lift (cause) - object - fence post ## Analysis The glider collided with a fence during a precautionary landing following a loss of lift. The glider encountered an "area of significant sink" during the return portion of the flight, so the pilot elected to land on a road instead of trying to fly back to his intended destination. During the rollout, the left wing caught a hidden post, which pulled the glider 90 degrees from its original direction of travel. A barbed wire fence went through the canopy, and cut the pilot. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the glider. ## Factual narrative On August 23, 2002, about 1630 Pacific daylight time, an AB Sportine Aviacija Genesis 2 glider, N422DT, collided with a fence during a precautionary landing near Orland, California. The pilot/owner was operating the glider under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91; the glider sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot, who held a glider rating, was the sole occupant, and received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight that departed a private dirt strip (Crazy Creek Soaring) in Middletown, California, about 1300. The flight was scheduled to terminate at the private dirt strip. According to the pilot, he was soaring at 10,000 feet mean sea level (msl) above high terrain. During the return portion of the flight, the glider "encountered an area of significant sink." He decided to depart the area for lower terrain to locate a place to land. The pilot reported that he had plenty of altitude, so he circled around the area looking for a place to land. He found a county road that was clear of obstacles. The pilot stated that he landed to the south. On the landing rollout, the left wing caught a hidden post, located to the east of the road, which pulled the glider 90 degrees from its original direction of travel. A barbwire fence went through the canopy and struck the top of his head. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the glider. In the pilot's written statement, he reported accumulating a total of 15,000 flight hours, of which 84 were obtained in gliders, and 15 hours were logged in the accident glider make and model. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N422DT](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N422DT), registered now, S/N 2017, built 1999 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AB Sportine Aviacija Genesis 2 - Registry model: [AB Sportine Aviacija GENESIS 2](https://openairdocs.org/model/ab-sportine-aviacija-genesis-2) (registry code 05606KT) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [NONE](https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (registry code 00000, none) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Glider - Serial number: 2017 - Airframe hours: 23 - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Donald M. Biener - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, July 29, 2002, 13 hours before - Departed: MIDDLETOWN, CA ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 49; injuries: minor; commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review April 8, 2002; seat: front; flight hours: 15,000 total, 15 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 120° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: CIC, 15 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 20020823023219A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020823023219A), Aug 23, 2002: Amtr GENESIS2, Orland, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) Glider collided with fence during off airport landing. 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.