- Date
- May 11, 2020, 12:53 local (19:53 UTC)
- Place
- Arlington, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N355BALet L 33 Solo
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of lift
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 101295
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 loss of lift while on final approach which resulted in a hard off-airport landing.
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 glider pilot reported that while on final approach to land, the ground speed decreased and the glider descended faster than expected. Unable to reach the runway, he diverted to a gravel area to land out. The glider landed hard, and during the landing roll he heard a loud bang that was later identified as a pothole. The glider sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N355BA
- Reported as
- Let L 33 Solo (No Series)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 990506
- Built
- 1999
- Airframe hours
- 814.35
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 8, 2020
- Departed
- AWO · Arlington, WA
- Destination
- AWO · Arlington, WA
- Airport
- AWO · Arlington Muni, runway 34, 5,332 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Student, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Center
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,561 total · 4 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- KPAE, 16 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 9, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.8 MB in all.