- Date
- June 16, 2007, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Minden, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N374AMSchempp-Hirth Nimbus-3DM
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 30, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20070616012909A
- Case key
- 65994
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 flight's encounter with severe downdrafts during cruise flight. Contributing factors were the pilot's inadvertent selection of unsuitable terrain with hidden obstructions.
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 pilot of the motor glider reported that he had been airborne on a local soaring flight for about 30 minutes when the flight encountered "severe downdrafts." Due to the downdrafts, he was unable to return to the airport and had to land in an alfalfa field. During the landing roll, the glider collided with a ditch and a fence that were not visible during the landing approach.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the motor glider reported that he had been airborne on a local soaring flight for about 30 minutes when the flight encountered "severe downdrafts." Due to the downdrafts, he was unable to return to the airport and had to land in an alfalfa field. During the landing roll, the glider collided with a ditch and a fence that were not visible during the landing approach.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N374AM
- Reported as
- Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-3DM
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 9
- Engine
- Rotax 535C, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- MEV · Minden, NV
- Destination
- MEV
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
- 49
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Flight hours
- 20,200 total · 108 in this make and model · 225 in the last 90 days · 95 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 12 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.