- Date
- October 4, 1986, 13:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Calistoga, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N914GBurkhart Grob G103 Twin II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19861004047799A
- Case key
- 25446
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
At the end of a local pleasure flight near clistoga, claifornia, the pilot stated the nose of his glider was pushed down while on base leg at calistaga airpark. Due to a loss in altitude to increase airspeed, the pilot was unable to reach the runway. A forced landing was attempted in a nearby plowed field; however, a row of trees was in the way which the pilot thought he could porpoise over. The glider collided with a tree and stalled into the field. The pilot reported that he had obtained his weather information from other pilots who were flying in the area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N914G
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G103 Twin II (G103 TWIN)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3747
- Airframe hours
- 1,089
- Engine
- unknown UNK, unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Flint A. Nelson
- Registered owner
- Silverado Soaring Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 4, 1986 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- 058 · Calistoga, CA
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 82 total · 19 in this make and model · 42 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.