- Date
- June 29, 2008, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Front Royal, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N184WGlasflugel Standard Libelle
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20080629843759A
- Case key
- 68357
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
Aircraft control was not maintained during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident was turbulence and inadvertent flight into adverse weather.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot, the glider was towed to an altitude of 4,700 feet above mean sea level and released. Shortly after release, the pilot encountered severe turbulence that caused the glider to become inverted. During the turbulence encounter, the pilot's head impacted the canopy several times, and shattered the canopy. While the glider was inverted the pilot heard "cracking in the wings." After recovering from the turbulence upset, the pilot attempted to land in a field. While on the final leg of the approach, the glider impacted some trees, and a hard landing resulted. The tree strikes and hard landing caused substantial damage to the wing and fuselage.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, the glider was towed to an altitude of 4,700 feet above mean sea level and released. Shortly after release, the pilot encountered severe turbulence that caused the glider to become inverted. During the turbulence encounter, the pilot's head impacted the canopy several times, and shattered the canopy. While the glider was inverted the pilot heard "cracking in the wings." After recovering from the turbulence upset, the pilot attempted to land in a field. While on the final leg of the approach, the glider impacted some trees, and a hard landing resulted. The tree strikes and hard landing caused substantial damage to the wing and fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N184W
- Reported as
- Glasflugel Standard Libelle
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 131
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- FRR · Front Royal, VA
- Destination
- FRR
- Airport
- FRR · Front Royal 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
- 56
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2008
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 700 total · 390 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- OKV, 14 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.