- Date
- July 31, 1990, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sparks, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N34AZRolladen-Schneider LS3-A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900731029329A
- Case key
- 26874
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 inability of the pilot to maintain control of the glider as a result of injuries sustained during an inflight encounter with turbulence. Contributing to the accident was turbulent weather condition encountered.
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
A glider collided with terrain after an inflight loss of control. The pilot bailed out of the glider before impact with the ground. The pilot indicated the glider encountered turbulence. During the encounter, the pilot's head struck the glider canopy and the pilot's right arm was injured. The pilot stated that she was unable to control the pitch of the glider and elected to bail out. The pilot had difficulty exiting the glider due to injuries. The injury to the right arm hampered the pilot in releasing the glider canopy, releasing her seat belt, and pulling the parachute 'd-ring.' After releasing the canopy and unfastening the seat belt with the aid of her left hand, the pilot deployed her parachute while still seated. The pilot leaned forward in the cockpit and the pilot chute deployed. As the main chute inflated, the pilot was pulled from the glider. The pilot parachuted safely to the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N34AZ
- Reported as
- Rolladen-Schneider LS3-A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3349
- Airframe hours
- 794
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Henrietta C. Amade
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 4, 1989 · 99 hours before
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
- 56
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,939 total · 48 in this make and model · 2,867 as pilot in command · 181 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RNO, 20 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.