SEA02LA076

The student pilot reported that he was looking for lift to continue the glider operation when the airspeed "got too slow and the tail dropped and the glider went into a flat spin." The student pilot did not recover from the spin and subsequently collided with the terrain. During the post-accident inspection of the wreckage, no evidence of a pre-impact malfunction of the airframe or flight controls were found. The student pilot reported that this was the first flight in this aircraft since it had been restored. The student pilot's flight records indicated that his last flight instructor signoff for solo operations were about six months prior to the accident, and no flights had been accomplished since the last signoff.

On April 28, 2002, approximately 1200 Pacific daylight time, a deregistered Cook RS-15 glider, last registered as N151EC and deregistered in April 1998 due to being destroyed (according to the FAA aircraft registry), was substantially damaged in a collision with terrain following a loss of control near Richland, Washington. The pilot of the single-seat glider, who held a student pilot certificate issued in October 2001 (according to the FAA airman registry), was seriously injured in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions were reported at Pasco, Washington, at 1353, and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR 91 personal flight. The accident flight departed Richland, Washington, about 1130.

In a written statement, the pilot reported that he had picked up a good lift to 5,000 feet, then glided back down to pick up another at about 3,000 feet. The pilot reported that at 3,500 feet the glider felt "tail heavy" however, he continued to look for lift. The pilot stated that as he was looking for other gliders and lift, he "got too slow and the tail dropped and the glider went into a flat spin."

The tow plane pilot who towed the glider to altitude reported that the aero tow was uneventful. A witness who observed the accident from another glider about 1 1/2 miles from the accident aircraft, and who was in radio communication with the accident pilot, reported that the accident flight was the pilot's first flight in the accident aircraft. He reported that the accident pilot was thermaling at the time. He stated that the accident pilot radioed that he had caught a "hot one", and that the accident pilot called his altitude as 2,900 feet. The witness reported that the accident pilot was thermaling to the right, and was in a steep bank angle at the time. The witness stated that about 1 minute after the accident pilot's radio call, the accident aircraft's right wing dropped, then its nose dropped. The witness stated that he then momentarily lost sight of the accident aircraft, and that when he regained sight of the aircraft it was spinning to the left. The witness stated that although he tried to call spin recovery instructions over the radio to the accident pilot, the aircraft never came out of the spin. He stated the aircraft maintained a generally stabilized spin all the way to the ground, although it appeared to flatten and slow its rotation rate during approximately the last three turns prior to ground impact. The witness stated that the glider impacted the ground in a perfectly flat attitude.

A FAA inspector who responded to the accident scene and examined the wreckage did not report finding any evidence of pre-impact malfunctions of the glider's airframe or flight controls.

According to information on the Schreder RS-15 sailplane design obtained from the Internet (www.sailplanedirectory.com), the accident glider type is capable of carrying up to 200 pounds of water ballast. The pilot reported that there was no water ballast added for this flight.

A review of the pilot's logbook indicated that he had an instructor sign-off for solo flight in November 2001. No flight time was logged from this date to the accident date. A total flight time of 37 hours had been logged in all gliders. Only 30 minutes, on the day of the accident, had been logged for this make and model glider. This was the first flight in this glider since it had been restored.