Danville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Dansville, New York 14807
Saturday, July 22, 2000 12:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The glider was towed to 1,500 feet, and released. The pilot flew 'some' circles looking for lift and found a 'weak' thermal at 200 feet. The location of the thermal was west of a ridgeline that ran southwest. The glider then climbed to 1,000 feet and began to drift from the winds aloft. The pilot attempted to find lift off of the ridgeline, but only encountered sink. The glider began to lose altitude and impacted trees. The pilot reported a total flight experience of 2,177 hours, all in gliders.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper in-flight decision to continue the flight with an unfavorable wind. A factor related to the accident was the loss of thermal lift.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/22/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City DANSVILLE
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 14807
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport DANVILLE AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DSV
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 662
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1154 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID DSV
Elevation of weather observation facility 662
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 616
NTSB Notification Source Eastern Region Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 24 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N586A
NTSB Number NYC00LA208
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 Schreder
Aircraft Model HP-11-A
Aircraft Series Identifier HP-11-A
Aircraft Serial Number 53
Certified Max Gross Weight 850
Aircraft Category Glider
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 20 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 70
Airframe Hours 1617
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HAROLD J. LYON
Aircraft Owner Street Address 146 VALIANT DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City ROCHESTER
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 14623
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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 DSV
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1145
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --