- Date
- June 11, 1994, 11:03 local (18:03 UTC)
- Place
- Jean, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N90614Prue Irving Owen 160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 5, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940611015219A
- Case key
- 28769
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 failure to properly connect the aileron control linkage during assembly, and his inadequate preflight which did not detect the problem before flight.
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
On the initial takeoff, the pilot reported he had no aileron control. He aborted the takeoff and released from the tow plane when about 20 to 30 feet above the ground. The right wing then collided with the ground and the glider crashed. The pilot stated he failed to properly connect the aileron control linkage and the preflight inspection did not detect the problem.
Factual narrative
On June 11, 1994, at 1103 hours Pacific daylight time, a Prue 160 glider, N90614, collided with terrain after an in-flight loss of control during the initial takeoff climb from the Jean Airport, Jean, Nevada. The glider was being operated as a personal flight by the pilot/owner. The glider was destroyed and the certificated airline transport pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The pilot indicated during the initial takeoff climb he did not have aileron control. The glider pilot aborted the takeoff and released from the tow plane about 20 to 30 feet above the ground. The glider's right wing then dropped, striking the ground first.
Post-accident examination of the glider's flight control system revealed the ANC-3 bolt that attaches the aileron torque tubes to the aileron pulley was not properly installed when the glider was assembled for the flight. The pilot stated in his report that he failed to properly connect the aileron control linkage, and inadequate preflight procedures didn't detect the problem.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N90614
- Reported as
- Prue Irving Owen 160
- Category
- Glider, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1001
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jenista, James F.
- Registered owner
- Jenista, James F.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 0L7
- Destination
- 0L7 · NV
- Airport
- 0L7 · Jean Airport, runway 20, 4,500 × 150 ft, gravel
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
- 66
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 11,266 total · 72 in this make and model · 9,464 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 102 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAS, 22 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.