- Date
- November 4, 2007, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Windham, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N46009Burkhart Grob G 103 Twin II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20071104829759A
- Case key
- 67010
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
An inadvertent encounter with a wind gust while maneuvering.
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
Both pilots were alternating flying duties in a Burkhart Grob G 103 Twin II glider. They had been soaring along a ridge for approximately 1 hour in non-turbulent wind. The rear seat pilot was flying on the upwind side of the ridge, about 500 feet above the summit, when a gust of wind suddenly forced the glider to the downwind side of the ridge, about 25 feet below the summit. The glider then impacted trees, sustained substantial damage, and both pilots were seriously injured. The reported wind at an airport about 25 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, was 270 degrees at 6 knots. Examination of the glider did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilots report any.
Factual narrative
Both pilots were alternating flying duties in a Burkhart Grob G 103 Twin II glider. They had been soaring along a ridge for approximately 1 hour in non-turbulent wind. The rear seat pilot was flying on the upwind side of the ridge, about 500 feet above the summit, when a gust of wind suddenly forced the glider to the downwind side of the ridge, about 25 feet below the summit. The glider then impacted trees, sustained substantial damage, and both pilots were seriously injured. The reported wind at an airport about 25 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, was 270 degrees at 6 knots. Examination of the glider by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilots report any.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N46009
- Reported as
- Burkhart Grob G 103 Twin II
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 3830
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Nutmeg Soaring Association
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 1I5 · Freehold, NY
- Destination
- 1I5
- Airport
- 1I5 · Freehold 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 72
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2007
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,433 total · 44 in this make and model · 70 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 58
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 308 total · 50 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- ALB, 25 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.