- Date
- September 29, 2022, 14:07 local (21:07 UTC)
- Place
- Hood River, OR · 200 feet short of runway 25
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N220CWSchleicher ASW-20
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: 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
- 20220929017299A
- Case key
- 106045
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 pilot’s encounter with atmospheric conditions where the lift was not sufficient to maintain flight.
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 in the glider reported that, during the return flight to the airport, he encountered a higher sink rate than expected and did not have sufficient altitude to reach the airport. During an emergency landing in a fruit orchard, the glider landing gear contacted utility pole wires, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N220CW
- Reported as
- Schleicher ASW-20
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 20366
- Built
- 1981
- Airframe hours
- 1,165
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 18, 2022
- Departed
- 4S2 · Hood River, OR
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 4S2 · Ken Jernstedt Airfield, runway 25, 3,040 × 75 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 68
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- September 30, 2022
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 435 total · 321 in this make and model · 21 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- K4S2
- METAR
- K4S2 292055Z AUTO 30010G16KT 10SM BKN060 BKN070 21/13 A3011 RMK AO2
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 5, 2023, 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.