- Date
- September 2, 1995, 14:14 local (18:14 UTC)
- Place
- Mayville, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1196Schleicher KA-8B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 27, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950902027869A
- Case key
- 39046
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 inadequate inflight planning, which resulted in an inflight collision with trees.
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 pilot reported he was on approach when he encountered a very unusual sink or down air condition. The aircraft descended and struck trees, about a quarter mile short of the runway.
Factual narrative
On September 2, 1995, at 1414 eastern daylight time, a Schleicher KA-8B, N1196, a glider, sustained substantial damage during impact with trees, while attempting to land at the Dart Airport, Mayville, New York. The commercial pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local, personal flight. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
In the NTSB form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated:
I left Dart Airport for a short personal flight....On return to Dart Field, about 1/4 mile from approach end of [runway] 6, got a very unusual sink of down air condition and fell short of field. Put glider in small tree.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1196
- Reported as
- Schleicher KA-8B
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 8573
- Airframe hours
- 2,223
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Marion L. Keith
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 9, 1995 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- D79 · NY
- Airport
- D79 · Dart, runway 6, 1,840 × 80 ft, grass/turf
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
- 82
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,026 total · 4,026 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.