- Date
- October 9, 2021, 16:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- San Juan Baptista, CA · fence-lined open field
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N87RSchweizer SGS 2-32
- Defining event
- Enroute: 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
- FAA report
- 20211009017819A
- Case key
- 104088
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 conditions where the lift was not sufficient to maintain flight, which necessitated a forced landing.
Findings · 3
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 of the glider reported that, while on a sightseeing flight with two passengers, about 10 minutes into the flight, the glider encountered an area with a loss of lift. He turned toward an area where lift was expected; however, the glider continued to descend. The pilot stated that there was not sufficient altitude to reach the airport, and he elected to land on a dirt road. During the landing flare, about 4-5 ft above ground level (agl), the glider abruptly yawed to the left due to a collision with an object and dropped onto the dirt road in a flat attitude; the glider bounced once and then came to rest upright on the dirt road. The glider sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N87R
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 2-32
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 41
- Built
- 1966
- Airframe hours
- 10,270.6
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hollister Soaring Center LLC
- Registered owner
- Hollister Soaring Center LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 21, 2021
- Departed
- CVH · Hollister, CA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- CVH · Hollister Muni
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
- 64
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Private, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 30, 2021
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 3.6 in this make and model · 7,000 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1.1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 5 knots, gusting 11
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- KCVH, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KCVH 092255Z AUTO 32005G11KT 10SM CLR 24/05 A3011 RMK A01=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 7, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 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.
Other investigations on N87R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.