- Date
- July 2, 1992, 18:30 local (Jul 3, 1992, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Olancha, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N173SSBurkhart Grob G103
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920702026839A
- Case key
- 27671
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
1) The tow pilot's intentional premature release of the glider, which had become airborne, when the tow plane failed to achieve sufficient airspeed during its takeoff ground roll, and, 2) the glider having insufficient altitude at the time of release to negotiate a successful return to runway maneuver. A factor in the accident was the soft nature of the dirt runway.
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 said that while en route on a cross country flight he began loosing lift and elected to make a precautionary landing at an abandoned airstrip. After landing, the pilot telephoned company representatives and arranged to have a tow plane fly down to get him airborne again. The tow plane arrived and both pilots surveyed the 2,400 foot long dirt airstrip, deciding that it was adequate for the tow operation. During the attempted takeoff, the tow plane pilot felt that the acceleration down the runway was insufficient to takeoff and he released the glider. Unknown to the tow plane pilot, the glider was already airborne off the runway when he released the tow cable. The glider had insufficient remaining runway to land and the pilot was forced to attempt a return to runway maneuver from low altitude. One wing tip collided with a small tree during the turn back to the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N173SS
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G103
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3286
- Airframe hours
- 1,215
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Douglass Soaring Club
- Registered owner
- Douglass Soaring Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 22, 1992 · 53 hours before
- Destination
- BIH · Bishop, CA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- NONE · Abandoned Airstrip, runway 18, 2,400 × 70 ft, dirt
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
- 44
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,270 total · 403 in this make and model · 1,239 as pilot in command · 56 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N173SS · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.