WPR12LA218

The pilot of the motor-glider, who was flying with the motor stowed, had just crossed over a ridge at an altitude of about 500-600 feet above the ground, when he entered a thermal and began to climb. Soon thereafter the glider’s bank angle increased to the point where the pilot was apparently unable to maintain control of the glider. He jettisoned the glider’s canopy and bailed out, but was unable to open his parachute before impacting the terrain. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

On May 19, 2012, about 1530 Pacific daylight time, an experimental-exhibition Avia-Stroitel AC-5M motor-glider, N186P, impacted the terrain about 1 mile east of Kingston, Nevada. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant of the glider, received fatal injuries, and the glider, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The local 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight, which departed the Kingston Airstrip, about 30 minutes prior to the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. According to a witness, after the pilot took off from the airstrip, he climbed to about 1,000 feet above ground level (agl), and then began circling and entering thermals as he continued his climb. He then flew out of sight over a ridge, with everything reportedly looking normal up to that point in time. About 20 minutes after the glider went out of sight, it came back over the ridge at a relatively low altitude, and the pilot then appeared to enter another thermal about 500 to 600 feet agl. While in the thermal, the pilot appeared to enter a steep climbing left turn, and while in the turn, the glider began to move in what the witness described as an erratic manner. Soon thereafter the pilot was seen departing the glider, which then pitched over and made an uncontrolled descent into the terrain. The pilot was found about 150 yards from the wreckage of the glider. The canopy release handle was about 10 feet from the pilot, and the canopy was nearby. Although the pilot was wearing a parachute, its ripcord was not pulled, and the parachute had not opened. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector who responded to the accident examined the glider at the scene. Although the movement of the ailerons and the elevator were limited by impact damage, he was able to establish flight control continuity and correct movement to all flight control surfaces. He further determined that the spoilers operated normally from the stowed position to the fully deployed position. He also reported that he found no evidence of any inflight malfunction or restriction of movement of any of the flight controls. Although the engine was out of its stowed position, the partially open position of the engine well doors, and the scars on the doors themselves, were consistent with the engine being stowed prior to impact. The engine position was also confirmed by the witness, who reported that it was not sticking out of the top of the fuselage, and that prior to the impact the fuselage profile looked like that of a normal glider. The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on the pilot, and the determination was made that the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries related to the glider accident. The FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute performed a forensic toxicological examination on specimens taken from the pilot. All finding were negative, except for 22 (mg/dl, mg/hg) ofEthanol detected in the muscle. The notes in the examination report indicated that the Ethanol found in the muscle was from sources other than ingestion, and that no Ethanol was detected in the brain tissue.