Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Highland-Winet Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Highland, Illinois 62249
Saturday, September 14, 1996 14:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A Piper PA-25 tow plane was used to tow a Blanik L-23 Glider (sailplane) to about 1,200 feet AGL, west of the airport. After release of the glider, the tow pilot returned to the airstrip and entered a right traffic pattern (from the east) to land on the runway for powered aircraft (powered runway 36). Meanwhile, the Blanik/glider pilot did not get the expected lift and had entered a left downwind for landing on the parallel runway for sailplanes (sailplane runway 36). Another sailplane was ahead of the Blanik, so the Blanik pilot extended the downwind turn to base. When he turned base leg, he was further from the runway and lower than normal. At about that same time, the PA-25 tow plane was on the base leg for the powered runway 36. Because the Blanik was lower than expected and because the other glider had just landed, the pilot of the Blanik chose to land on the powered runway, which could be used by gliders in emergency situations. The PA-25 pilot reported that she did not see the Blanik in front and underneath the PA-25. At about the time the Blanik touched down, the PA-25 landed on top of the Blanik, straddling the glider until both aircraft rolled to a stop. Both aircraft were owned and operated by the same sailplane soaring association, and neither aircraft was equipped with a radio.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
failure of the Piper PA-25 tow pilot to see-and-avoid the Blanik L-23 glider. A factor relating to the accident was: neither aircraft was equipped with a communication radio.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/14/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1430 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | HIGHLAND |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 62249 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | HIGHLAND-WINET |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | H07 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 537 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 918 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 200 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BLV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 453 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1177 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 14 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1956 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 7 2001 12:43PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7753Z | N7906 |
| NTSB Number | CHI96LA339A | CHI96LA339B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- | -- |
| Damage | Minor | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper | Let |
| Aircraft Model | PA-25 | SUPER BLANIK L-23 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-25 | SUPER BLAN |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 25-3936 | 917906 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2900 | 550 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Glider |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes | No |
| ELT Activated | No | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ST. LOUIS SOARING | ST. LOUIS SOARING |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 10028 MANCHESTER RD, BOX 212 | 10028 MANCHESTER RD, BOX 212 |
| Aircraft Owner City | GLENDALE | GLENDALE |
| Aircraft Owner State | MO | MO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | ||
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 63122 | 63122 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- | -- |
| Operator Name | ||
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | ||
| Operator City | ||
| Operator State | ||
| Operator Country | ||
| Operator Zip code | ||
| Operator Code | ||
| Owner has at least one certificate | None | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | H07 | H07 |
| Departure City | ||
| Departure State | ||
| Departure Country | ||
| Departure Time | 0 | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | ||
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | ||
| Destination City | ||
| Destination State | ||
| Destination Country | ||
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM | Jan 2 2001 10:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 | 36 |
| Runway Length | 2600 | 2000 |
| Runway Width | 100 | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |