Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Mid-America Industrial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Pryor, Oklahoma 74361
Saturday, May 26, 2001 13:50 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The glider pilot reported that during takeoff, he had to maintain a crab of 15 degrees into the wind in order to track down the runway centerline. Shortly after lift-off, the glider gained altitude abruptly and ascended to an altitude above the tow airplane. The glider pilot reported that he had encountered "severe turbulence" and was caught in an "extreme updraft." He remembered looking up at the sky, losing sight of the tow airplane, and being "jarred about the cockpit" while attempting to disengage the towrope. He recalled that his altimeter was indicating 440 feet agl approximately midway down the runway at the time he released the towrope, and he estimated the tow airplane to be 150 feet lower than his glider. The glider completed a normal traffic pattern and landed on the runway. The glider pilot mentioned that his glider had a tendency for the trim lever to release from its "full nose down" trim position, which is the recommended takeoff trim lever position, and "snatch" back to the "full nose up" position. He remembered having to push forward during the initial climb to counteract a nose up effect. A witness observed the glider gain altitude "relatively abrupt" and was able to detect that the glider was "decidedly higher" than the tow airplane. He saw the glider break away to the east and thought the problem was over. He continued to observe the tow airplane and stated that from his position the airplane appeared to level off momentarily, and then "nose dived and impacted the ground." A pilot, whose tow flight had departed just prior to the accident, reported that the wind was approximately 9 knots, and he did not experience any turbulence or gusty wind conditions. A functional check of the glider's trim operation was completed by placing the trim lever in the full nose down position (takeoff position) and then hand-tightened the wing nut, which is used to lock the lever in place. The control stick was then pulled aft, and the trim lever would release almost immediately. This procedure was repeated several times with the same result. The airplane's tow hook was found partially separated from the tail. Examination of the towrope revealed that the breakable link was broken.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the failure of the glider pilot to maintain aircraft control and his delay in releasing the towrope. A contributing factor was the glider's worn elevator trim friction, which resulted in its disengagement.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/26/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1350 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Pryor |
| Event State | OKLAHOMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 74361 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 361313N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0951847W |
| Event Location Airport | Mid-America Industrial |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | H71 |
| 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 | 622 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1351 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 9 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GCM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 725 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 290 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.94 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KGCM 261851Z AUTO 25011G15KT 10SM CLR 23/09 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 12402 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 26 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 4 2002 9:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5617E | N9915X |
| NTSB Number | FTW01FA129A | FTW01FA129B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No | No |
| Damage | Destroyed | None |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna | Schleicher |
| Aircraft Model | 150 | Ka-6E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17117 | 4095 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1500 | 661 |
| 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 | 2 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | 0 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 20 2001 12:00AM | Mar 24 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 20 | 0.4 |
| Airframe Hours | 4016 | 1165.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No | No |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Tulsa Skyhawks, Inc. | John C. Cartmill |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 8383 E 114TH ST S | 3809 S Orange Circle |
| Aircraft Owner City | Bixby | Broken Arrow |
| Aircraft Owner State | OK | OK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 74008 | 74011 |
| Operator is an individual? | No | No |
| 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? | -- | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- | -- |
| 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) | Other Work Use | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | H71H | H71 |
| Departure City | Pryor | Pryor |
| Departure State | OK | OK |
| Departure Country | USA | USA |
| Departure Time | 1350 | 1350 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | H71 | H71 |
| Destination City | -- | -- |
| Destination State | -- | -- |
| Destination Country | -- | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 24 2002 4:50PM | Sep 24 2002 4:50PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SNYG | SNYG |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 17 | 17 |
| Runway Length | 5000 | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 75 | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |