- Date
- May 22, 1983, 15:25 local (22:25 UTC)
- Place
- Bridgeport, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N184NSchempp-Hirth Standard CirrusN6482Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA reports
- 19830522075432A19830522075431A
- Case key
- 23453
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Two schempp-hirth gliders, N184N & N6482, were being flown in a x-country contest along a triangular course. The course started at minden, NV & went to schurz, NV & Bridgeport, CA, then back to minden. The plts of both gliders had participated in contests for over 10 yrs & were good friends. Witnesses observed the 2 gliders flying close to each other along the route near the Bridgeport resernoir. The plt of N184N said that he saw N6482 about 200 ft above him while both were in a thermal. He said that N6482 left the thermal at about 15,500 ft. he (N184N) made another turn in the thermal, then left it to continue toward Bridgeport. The plt of N184N said that when he left the thermal, he did not see N6482 until sometime later, just a fraction of a second before impact. He reported that N6482 converged from N184N'S 8 o'clock positin. After impact, N6482 entered a descent & crashed in a hilly wooded area. The left wing tip of N184N separated & the canopy was damaged, but the plt was able to land at Bridgeport.
Two schempp-hirth gliders, N184N & N6482, were being flown in a x-country contest along a triangular course. The course started at minden, NV & went to schurz, NV & Bridgeport, CA, then back to minden. The plts of both gliders had participated in contests for over 10 yrs & were good friends. Witnesses observed the 2 gliders flying close to each other along the route near the Bridgeport reservoir. The plt of N184N said that he saw N6482 about 200 ft above him while both were in a thermal. He said that N6482 left the thermal at about 15,500 ft. he (N184N) made another turn in the thermal, then left it to continue toward Bridgeport. The plt of N184N said that when he left the thermal, he did not see N6482 until sometime later, just a fraction of a second before impact. He reported that N6482 converged from N184N'S 8 o'clock position. After impact, N6482 entered a descent & crashed in a hilly wooded area. The left wing tip of N184N separated & the canopy was damaged, but the plt was able to land at Bridgeport.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N184N
- Reported as
- Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus (STANDARD C)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 9
- Airframe hours
- 1,534
- Engine
- None NONE, unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Richard Cook
- Registered owner
- Patricia M. Cook
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 29, 1982 · 76 hours before
- Departed
- MEV · Minden, NV
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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.
- Registration
- N6482
- Reported as
- Schempp-Hirth Standard Cirrus (STANDARD C)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 123
- Airframe hours
- 722
- Engine
- None NONE, unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hugo B. Fischer
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 9, 1983 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- MEV · Minden, NV
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N184N
- Age
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,581 total · 1,530 in this make and model · 2,524 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N6482
- Age
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,425 total · 720 in this make and model · 12 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Observed at
- MEV, 49 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 2
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N184N · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.