- Date
- August 9, 2008, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bend, OR
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N62345Let Blanik L-13
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing area undershoot
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080809847989A
- Case key
- 68663
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 misjudged distance/altitude which resulted in an undershoot while on final approach to land. Factors contributing to the accident were the lack of thermal lift (sinking air), and the lack of suitable terrain for the off-airport landing.
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 that he was taking a new glider club member for an introductory flight. He stated that the flight was "normal with good lift," and he was never more than 3 miles from the airport. On final approach about 3/4 miles from the runway threshold, the pilot felt the glider sink and noted that he was becoming too low to reach the runway. The terrain off the end of the runway was covered with juniper trees and sagebrush. He turned left to land off airport in the "only open spot." The left wing struck a tree, and the right wingtip then struck the ground. The right wing and the fuselage sustained structural damage. The pilot stated that from an altitude of 1,000 feet above ground level this glider "should be able to fly 3 miles, I lost 800 feet in less than 1/2 mile."
Factual narrative
The pilot of the glider reported that he was taking a new glider club member for an introductory flight. He stated that the flight was "normal with good lift," and he was never more than 3 miles from the airport. He entered the traffic pattern for landing on runway 16. On final approach about 3/4 miles from the runway threshold, the pilot felt the glider sink and noted that he was becoming too low to reach the runway. The terrain off the end of the runway was covered with juniper trees and sagebrush. He turned left to land off airport in the "only open spot." The left wing struck a tree, and the right wing tip then struck the ground. The right wing and the fuselage sustained structural damage. The pilot stated that from an altitude of 1,000 feet above ground level this glider "should be able to fly 3 miles, I lost 800 feet in less than 1/2 mile."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N62345
- Reported as
- Let Blanik L-13
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 027012
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- High Desert Soaring Club Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- BDN · Bend, OR
- Destination
- BDN
- Airport
- BDN · Bend Municipal, runway 16, 5,200 × 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
- 48
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 5,126 total · 40 in this make and model · 32 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDM, 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.