# NTSB SEA07LA132: Schweizer SGS 1-26A, N2707Z, Lake Elsinore, CA, May 19, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 19, 2007, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Lake Elsinore, CA - Coordinates: 33.630001, -117.301666 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6300&lon=-117.3017&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 27, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Riverside Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 66039 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA07LA132 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/66039/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA07LA132 ## Probable cause The glider's encounter with a downdraft while in the traffic pattern, resulting in insufficient altitude to reach the airport. A contributing factor was the pilot's selection of an unsuitable off-airport landing area, which led to an on-ground collision with a fence and trees. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, approach - vfr pattern - downwind - weather condition - downdraft (cause) - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (contributing factor) - object - fence - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he took off at approximately 1330 local time and released from the tow plane at 2,800 feet above ground level (AGL). At the conclusion of the 30 minute flight, the pilot maneuvered the glider at 1,000 feet AGL to enter the downwind for the landing runway. According to the pilot, at the point where he normally entered the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the glider "encountered massive sink." The pilot determined that he would not make it back to the airport and searched for a place to land. The pilot maneuvered over some power lines and touched down on a roadway adjacent to a park The pilot started braking upon landing on the road, but the left wingtip wheel caught on a curb and turned the glider 90 degrees to the left. The glider exited the paved road and came to a stop, upright, as each wing impacted a small tree, and the nose of the glider impacted a wooden fence. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures. ## Factual narrative On May 19, 2007, approximately 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26A glider, N2707Z, sustained substantial damage when it struck a fence and two trees during an off-airport landing near Skylark Field Airport, Lake Elsinore, California. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The glider was registered to and operated by the Lake Elsinore Soaring Club of Wildomar, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local solo instructional flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. No flight plan was filed for this flight. The pilot reported that he took off at approximately 1330 local time and released from the tow plane at 2,800 feet above ground level (AGL). During the flight, the glider encountered "small pockets of light lift and moderate to severe sink due to sheer." At the conclusion of the flight, the pilot maneuvered the glider at 1,000 feet AGL to enter the downwind for the landing runway. According to the pilot, at the point where he normally entered the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the glider "encountered massive sink." The pilot determined that he would not make it back to the airport and searched for a place to land. The pilot maneuvered over some power lines and touched down on a roadway adjacent to a park The pilot started braking upon landing on the road, but the left wingtip wheel caught on a curb and turned the glider 90 degrees to the left. The glider exited the paved road and came to a stop, upright, as each wing impacted a small tree, and the nose of the glider impacted a wooden fence. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2707Z](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2707Z-2007-08-25), registration cancelled 2007-08-25, S/N 231, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Schweizer SGS 1-26A - Registry model: [Schweizer SGS 1-26A](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-1-26a) (registry code 8050116) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [NONE](https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (registry code 00000, none) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Glider - Serial number: 231 - Airframe hours: 2034.1 - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Nikolas Dane Snow Kruhmin - Registered owner: Lake Elsinore Soaring Club - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 1, 2006, 74.1 hours before - Departed: CA89, Lake Elsinore, CA - Destination: CA89 - Airport: CA89, Skylark Field ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 20; injuries: none; student; seat: left; flight hours: 30 total, 3 in this make and model, 8 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Lowest ceiling: none ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20070519009489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070519009489A), May 19, 2007: Scwzer SGS126A, Lake Elsinore, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot encountered loss of lift, which caused a high descent rate and loss of altitude. Pilot was unable to make runway. Pilot is a student pilot.… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.