- Date
- July 22, 2000, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Dansville, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N586ASchreder HP-11-A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 19, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000722012119A
- Case key
- 49798
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 improper in-flight decision to continue the flight with an unfavorable wind. A factor related to the accident was the loss of thermal lift.
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 glider was towed to 1,500 feet, and released. The pilot flew 'some' circles looking for lift and found a 'weak' thermal at 200 feet. The location of the thermal was west of a ridgeline that ran southwest. The glider then climbed to 1,000 feet and began to drift from the winds aloft. The pilot attempted to find lift off of the ridgeline, but only encountered sink. The glider began to lose altitude and impacted trees. The pilot reported a total flight experience of 2,177 hours, all in gliders.
Factual narrative
On July 22, 2000, about 1200 Eastern Daylight Time, a homebuilt HP-11-A glider, N586A, was substantially damaged after impacting trees near Dansville, New York. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, the glider was towed to 1,500 feet, and released. The pilot flew "some" circles looking for lift and found a "weak' thermal at 200 feet. The location of the thermal was west of a ridgeline that ran southwest, about 1 mile east of the Dansville Airport (DSV), Dansville, New York. The glider climbed to 1,000 feet and began to drift from the winds aloft. The pilot attempted to find lift off of the ridgeline, but only encountered sink. The glider began to lose altitude and impacted trees about 2 miles east of DSV.
The pilot reported a total flight experience of 2,177 hours, all in gliders.
The pilot did not report any mechanical difficulties with the glider.
The DSV weather reported at 1154 was, winds from 290 degrees at 7 knots, scattered clouds at 4,600 feet, broken cloud layer at 6,000 feet, and a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N586A
- Reported as
- Schreder HP-11-A
- Category
- Glider, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 53
- Airframe hours
- 1,617
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harold J. Lyon
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 20, 2000 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- DSV
- Airport
- DSV · Danville Airport
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
- 80
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,177 total · 1,234 in this make and model · 16 as pilot in command · 31 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DSV, 2 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.