Jean Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Jean, Nevada 89019
Sunday, June 21, 1998 11:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The glider impacted terrain and the pilot reported that he lost elevator control. The bolt connecting the pushrod to the elevator was found, but the attaching nut was not found. The European production glider had a total time of 4 hours since manufacture. The metallurgist who examined the bolt reported the first three threads of the accident bolt did not have debris in the roots; however, proper engagement of the locknut would cause six threads to be free of debris. An exemplar locknut in the hand-tightened only position (without engaging the blue plastic lining of the locknut) caused the nut threads to wipe material from the roots of the first three bolt threads

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The disconnection of the elevator control attachment nut due to improper installation by the manufacturer, which resulted in the pilot's loss of control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/21/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City JEAN
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89019
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport JEAN
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 0L7
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 2832
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1856 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID LAS
Elevation of weather observation facility 2179
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1148
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 21 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1220
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:32AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N98NL
NTSB Number LAX98LA209
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Glaser-Dirks
Aircraft Model DG-800B
Aircraft Series Identifier DG-800B
Aircraft Serial Number 8126B55
Certified Max Gross Weight 1157
Aircraft Category Glider
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 4
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SAFARI-GLIDE INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 SILVERSIDE ROAD SUITE 105
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name DAVID NOYES
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 451 GARDEN ROAD
Operator City COLUMBUS
Operator State OH
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 43214
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation 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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 0L7
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 20R
Runway Length 4600
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --