- Date
- July 25, 1992, 15:12 local (19:12 UTC)
- Place
- Knoxville, TN
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2135RBurkhart Grob G103
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920725027299A
- Case key
- 33113
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-in-command's failure to properly instruct the passenger on aircraft controls prior to takeoff, resulting in the passenger inadvertently releasing the tow cable as the glider was being towed through 150 feet.
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
Shortly after takeoff, pilot was attempting to instruct rear seat passenger, who did not speak english, how to open air vent. The passenger inadvertently pulled the tow cable release and the glider disconnected from the tow aircraft at 150 feet. The pilot attempted to turn back to the airport, but was unable to make the runway before landing on a grassy slope, and ground looping, at which time the aircraft collided with trees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2135R
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G103
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3601
- Airframe hours
- 1,020
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert L. Davis, doing business as Smokey Mountain Soaring Assoc.
- Registered owner
- Robert L. Davis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 1991 · 60 hours before
- Departed
- DKX
- Airport
- DKX · Downtown Island Airport, runway 26, 3,500 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 733 total · 3 in this make and model · 720 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TYS, 5 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.
Other investigations on N2135R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.