# NTSB WPR10LA356: Parker RS-15 Sailplane, N15LQ, Marysvale, UT, July 17, 2010 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 17, 2010, 16:10 local (22:10 UTC) - Place: Marysvale, UT - Coordinates: 38.427776, -112.300552 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.4278&lon=-112.3006&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Loss of lift](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/500) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report August 15, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 76664 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR10LA356 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/76664/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=76664 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10LA356 ## Probable cause The glider's encounter with insufficient atmospheric lift to maintain soaring flight. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Environmental issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on operation; cases with it: [Parker Donald A RS-15 SAILPLANE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000/cases.md?model=05627N8), [All aircraft, 57 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000/cases.md) - [Terrain: mountainous/hilly terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021010): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Not specified; cases with it: [Parker Donald A RS-15 SAILPLANE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021010/cases.md?model=05627N8), [All aircraft, 329 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021010/cases.md) - [Environmental issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Ability to respond/compensate (probable cause); cases with it: [Parker Donald A RS-15 SAILPLANE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000/cases.md?model=05627N8), [All aircraft, 57 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03030000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of lift](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/500) (defining event); cases with it: [Parker Donald A RS-15 SAILPLANE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/500/sequence.md?model=05627N8), [All aircraft, 252 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/500/sequence.md) - [Landing: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Parker Donald A RS-15 SAILPLANE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=05627N8), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Parker Donald A RS-15 SAILPLANE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=05627N8), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis While returning from a flight with a group of other gliders, the accident pilot reported to another pilot flying in the group that his glider was losing a significant amount of altitude and that he would be diverting to another airport. The pilot subsequently reported that the glider lost additional altitude and that he might need to land in a field west of a nearby town. The wreckage was found the following day on a small plateau in an inverted position at the 7,800-foot level on the side of a slope. The debris field consisted of components of the glider, which were all contained near the main wreckage. Strong winds and lenticular clouds were reported near the area of the accident site. It is likely that the glider encountered insufficient atmospheric lift to maintain soaring flight, and the pilot was not able to maintain clearance from terrain. ## Factual narrative On July 17, 2010, about 1610 mountain daylight time (MDT), an experimental Parker RS-15 Sailplane, N15LQ, impacted a mountain near Marysvale, Utah. The private pilot/owner operated the glider under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a personal flight. The pilot was fatally injured, and the glider sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Parowan Airport, Parowan, Utah, about 1245, and was joined with a group of three other gliders as it proceeded northbound. The pilot intended to return to Parowan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight was a subject of a family concerned alert notice (ALNOT) issued on July 18 after the pilot failed to return at 2230. The Paiute County Sheriff's Department located the accident site about 0930 the following morning. The sheriff reported that the site was about 1 mile north of Bouillon Canyon, on the side of a 12,000-foot mountain. The glider was on a small plateau, inverted, at the 7,800-foot level on the side of a slope. The debris field consisted of glider components, which were all contained near the main wreckage. A handheld global position system (GPS) was recovered from the accident site and sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for examination and download. The GPS unit sustained impact damage, which prevented any recorded data from being recovered. Another glider pilot who was the last known person to speak to the accident pilot, reported that he and the accident pilot had made the northern turn at Salina, Utah, which was about 80 nm from Parowan, and they were traveling southbound back towards Parowan. As they approached an area about 15 miles northwest of Marysvale, the accident pilot indicated he was going to proceed southbound towards Junction, Utah, along the hills west of Marysvale. The accident pilot reported a significant loss of altitude, nearly 5,000 feet, from 14,000 feet to 9,700 feet in a period of 3-5 minutes. The accident pilot told the witness pilot that he was going to divert to the airport at Junction. Shortly thereafter, the accident pilot radioed that the glider had lost additional altitude, and if he was unable to climb, he would land the glider in the fields west of Marysvale. The accident pilot had instructed his ground crew to respond to the Junction airport and await further instructions. The witness pilot stated that there were strong winds from the southwest at the time of the accident, and he saw lenticular clouds on the east side of the mountains where the accident glider was found. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N15LQ](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N15LQ-2018-01-11), registration cancelled 2018-01-11, S/N 25, built 1986 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PARKER RS-15 SAILPLANE - Registry model: [Parker Donald A RS-15 SAILPLANE](https://openairdocs.org/model/parker-donald-a-rs-15-sailplane) (registry code 05627N8) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [NONE](https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (registry code 00000, none) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Glider, amateur-built - Serial number: 25 - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: 1L9, Parowan, UT - Destination: 1L9, Parowan, UT - Airport: U13, Junction Airport ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: center; flight hours: 625 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 270° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.28 inHg - Observed at: BCE, 33 nm away ## 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 20100717040279A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100717040279A), Jul 17, 2010: Parker Dona RS-15 SAILP, Marysvale, UT, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Aircraft departed parowon, UT at about noon, in a flight of four gliders. Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances. Evidence at the scene indicated that… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 21, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=76664. 2.2 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 988 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40370510&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - GPS 17 - Factual Report of Group Chairman (item 2, .PDF, 700 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40339257&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=GPS%2017%20-%20Factual%20Report%20of%20Group%20Chairman-Master.PDF - Google Earth Photo of Intended Flight (item 3, .PDF, 473 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40369570&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Google%20Earth%20Photo%20of%20Intended%20Flight-Master.PDF 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.