- Date
- July 14, 2009, 13:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Riverside, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2701ZSchweizer SGS 1-26A
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of lift
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 19, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration FSDO
- FAA report
- 20090714013489A
- Case key
- 74288
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
A loss of lift which necessitated a forced landing in a field.
Findings · 2
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
The pilot reported that the glider experienced a loss of lift during a cross country flight and he executed an off-airport approach and landing to a field. During the landing flare, the glider’s left wing struck a fence post. Subsequently the glider landed sideways and came to rest upright. Examination of the glider revealed that the left wing spar and the fuselage were structurally damaged. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the glider’s flight control systems.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the glider experienced a loss of lift during a cross country flight and he executed an off airport approach and landing to a field. During the landing flare, the glider’s left wing struck a fence post. Subsequently the glider landed sideways and came to rest upright. Examination of the glider revealed that the left wing spar and the fuselage were structurally damaged. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the glider’s flight control systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2701Z
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 1-26A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 222
- Airframe hours
- 1,176
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Academic Soaring Club Inc
- Registered owner
- Academic Soaring Club Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 3, 2009
- Departed
- CL35 · Warner Springs, CA
- Destination
- 54CL · Lake Riverside, CA
- Airport
- 54CL · Lake Riverside Estates 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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Last flight review
- December 22, 2007
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 1,994 total · 17 in this make and model · 1,942 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 109 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.76 inHg
- Observed at
- KPSP, 23 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 19, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 533 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N2701Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.