- Date
- August 12, 1992, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bishop, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7988Schempp-Hirth Cirrus
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920812031219A
- Case key
- 27729
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 pilot's poor inflight decision to fly over mountainous terrain at an inadequate altitude.
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 certificated glider pilot, the sole occupant, departed for a local area flight with lift conditions described as weak to moderate. The wreckage was located about 2 hours after departure in an area of rugged mountainous terrain. The left wing of the glider struck a rocky ridge and came to rest about 300 feet below the ridge line. Other glider pilots reported that the accident pilot had a proclivity to fly over mountainous areas at low altitudes. A toxicological examination disclosed the presence of a cardiac antiarrhythmic drug. The quantity of drug found is considered to be at therapeutic levels. According to a cami physician, the drug, in view of the pilot's previous medical history, did not by itself, present a disqualifying condition that would have been expected to adversely affect the pilot's ability to pilot a glider.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7988
- Reported as
- Schempp-Hirth Cirrus
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 101
- Airframe hours
- 294
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sheldon, David B.
- Registered owner
- Sheldon, David B.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 3, 1992 · 49 hours before
- Departed
- BIH · Bishop, 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
- 71
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,971 total · 66 in this make and model · 57 in the last 90 days · 39 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 100 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BIH, 8 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.