- Date
- May 22, 1999, 12:25 local (19:25 UTC)
- Place
- Tehachapi, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8217AI.C.A. Brasov IS-29D2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 22, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990522005549A
- Case key
- 46476
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 inability to maintain a proper glide path due to an inadvertent encounter with an area of high sink rate conditions. The mountainous/hilly nature of the terrain which limited the pilot's selection of a landing site is a factor.
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 he spoke with other pilots before the flight to determine the soaring conditions. The pilots he spoke with reported that the lift conditions were not great but were generally satisfactory. A glider instructor pilot told him that there were areas of lift and areas of sink out there, but that there shouldn't be a problem making the airport from where he was let go from the tow plane. The pilot stated that after release from the tow plane he experienced 'a little bit of lift and then a huge sink rate and couldn't make it over the ridge' that separated him from the airport. He realized that he would not make it back to the airport and attempted to make a forced landing southeast of the airport and collided with ground obstructions during the landing roll.
Factual narrative
On May 22, 1999, at 1225 hours Pacific daylight time, an I.C.A. Brasov IS-29D2, N8217A, sustained substantial damage when it made an off-field landing in an open field 5 miles southeast of the Mountain Valley Airport, Tehachapi, California. The glider, operated by Skylark North under 14 CFR Part 91, was rented by the pilot. The commercial glider pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from the Mountain Valley Airport, at 1200 the day of the accident for a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions were observed and no flight plan was filed.
In a telephone interview with the Safety Board, the pilot said that he spoke with other pilots before the flight to determine the soaring conditions. The pilots he spoke with reported that the lift conditions were not great but were generally satisfactory. A glider instructor pilot told him that there were areas of lift and areas of sink out there, but that there shouldn't be a problem making the airport from where he was let go from the tow plane. The pilot stated that after release from the tow plane he experienced "a little bit of lift and then a huge sink rate and couldn't make it over the ridge" that separated him from the airport. He realized that he would not make it back to the airport and attempted to make a forced landing southeast of the airport and collided with ground obstructions during the landing roll.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8217A
- Reported as
- I.C.A. Brasov IS-29D2
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 207
- Airframe hours
- 179
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jane Barrett, doing business as Skylark North
- Registered owner
- Robert J. Broadwell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 22, 1998 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- L94
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
- 46
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 8,025 total · 2 in this make and model · 7,800 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.