- Date
- December 26, 1987, 16:00 local (Dec 27, 1987, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Ynez, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N75FERolladen-Schneider LS-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871226071839A
- Case key
- 25737
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.
In flight collision with object
Object - tree(s)Factor
Proper altitude - not maintainedCause
Diverted attentionCause
Weather condition - haze/smokeFactor
Visual lookout - inadequateFactor
Analysis
During a pleasure flight, the left wing of the glider struck a tree and collided with the terrain during a left turn in sinking air. The plt stated that he was looking over his right shoulder at nearby traffic then turned to look forward into the hazy setting sun when the left wingtip struck a treetop and cartwheeled the airplane into the trees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N75FE
- Reported as
- Rolladen-Schneider LS-3
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3313
- Airframe hours
- 975
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David A. Weir/Mark L. Saunders
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 1987 · 162 hours before
- Departed
- IZA · Santa Ynez, CA
- Destination
- IZA
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Expired
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 652 total · 295 in this make and model · 502 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.