- Date
- July 10, 2018, 18:32 local (Jul 11, 2018, 01:32 UTC)
- Place
- Goldfield, NV
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N104THSchempp Hirth Discus CS
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Loss of lift
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180710010819A
- Case key
- 97748
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 glider’s encounter with atmospheric lift conditions that were not sufficient to maintain flight, which necessitated a forced landing on uneven terrain.
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 commercial pilot reported that, during the personal glider flight, the weather conditions deteriorated, so he chose to land the glider at an alternate airport. While attempting to reach the alternate airport, the glider encountered continuous sinking air. When he realized the glider would not reach the alternate airport, the pilot chose to land on a nearby road. Just before touchdown, the right wing impacted a berm that paralleled the road, and the glider subsequently cartwheeled and then came to rest inverted. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe that would have precluded normal operation. The glider encountered atmospheric lift conditions that were not sufficient to maintain flight, which necessitated a forced landing on uneven terrain.
Factual narrative
On July 10, 2018, about 1832 Pacific daylight time, a Schempp Hirth DISCUS CS glider, N104TH, collided with terrain during a forced off airport landing, following a loss of lift, near Goldfield, Nevada. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The glider sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The glider was registered to Sparrowhawk21 LLC. and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal local flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed about the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Tonopah Airport (TPH), Tonopah, Nevada about 1330. The pilot reported that during the long cross country flight, he had to deviate to an alternate airport, due to deteriorating weather. While attempting to reach his selected off airport landing site, he encountered continuous sinking air. He realized that he would not make it and made the choice to land on a nearby road. Just prior to the landing touchdown the right wing impacted a dirt berm that paralleled the road, which caused a ground loop. The glider cartwheeled and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airframe that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N104TH
- Reported as
- Schempp Hirth Discus CS (No Series)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 287 CS
- Built
- 2001
- Airframe hours
- 349.8
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sparrowhawk21 LLC.
- Registered owner
- Sparrowhawk21 LLC.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 5, 2018
- Departed
- TPH · Tonopah, NV
- Destination
- TPH · Tonopah, NV
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Satellite tracking device
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
- 51
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 7, 2017
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 2,135.5 total · 165.5 in this make and model · 2,055.6 as pilot in command · 80.1 in the last 90 days · 41.4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- KTPH, 28 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 5, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.7 MB 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.