- Date
- March 18, 2006, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Blairstown, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N439ASSchleicher ASW-19B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060318003389A
- Case key
- 63395
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
A loss of lift, which resulted in a forced landing.
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
After about 1.5 hours of ridgeline flying, and during the outbound leg from the departure airport, the glider approached a valley. According to the pilot, "the ridge lift in this area dissipated rapidly due to a shift in wind direction." Due to the loss in lift, the pilot circled over a field and set up a downwind, base, and final approach for a landing. While on the "short final" leg of the approach, the pilot noticed an obstacle, elected to climb over it, and to land as quickly as possible on the opposite side. During the rollout, the pilot attempted to maneuver the glider between two trees; however, both wingtips impacted the trees, and the glider was substantially damaged.
Factual narrative
After about 1.5 hours of ridgeline flying, and during the outbound leg from the departure airport, the glider approached a valley. According to the pilot, "the ridge lift in this area dissipated rapidly due to a shift in wind direction." Due to the loss in lift, the pilot circled over a field and set up a downwind, base, and final approach for a landing. While on the "short final" leg of the approach, the pilot noticed an obstacle, elected to climb over it, and to land as quickly as possible on the opposite side. During the rollout, the pilot attempted to maneuver the glider between two trees; however, both wingtips impacted the trees, and the glider was substantially damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N439AS
- Reported as
- Schleicher ASW-19B
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 19231
- Airframe hours
- 901
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William Jay Snyder
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2005
- Departed
- 1N7 · Blairstown, NJ
- Destination
- 1N7
- Airport
- 1N7 · Blairstown
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
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- January 1, 2006
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 148 total · 7 in this make and model · 7 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 9 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.