- Date
- July 6, 1984, 14:15 local (21:15 UTC)
- Place
- Yermo, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N880SEntwicklungsgemeinschaft Phoebus C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840706030409A
- Case key
- 23974
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
The pilot encountered adverse soaring flight conditions during a long x-country attempt and was forced to divert to an intermediate airport. On a long glide to his selected landing site, the pilot encountered high powerlines. Turning to avoid them , he lost control and entered an uncontrolled descent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N880S
- Reported as
- Entwicklungsgemeinschaft Phoebus C
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 830
- Airframe hours
- 865
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Norman D. Rockwood
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 28, 1984 · 71 hours before
- Departed
- L01 · Llano, CA
- Airport
- 0L0 · Harvard
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 285 total · 171 in this make and model · 261 as pilot in command · 46 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 29 knots, gusting 33
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 100 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DAG, 2 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.