Siskiyou County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Montague, California 96064
Saturday, June 23, 2001 17:17 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was competing in an open class national soaring contest, and strong surface wind conditions were present. Locally, the wind speed was at 20 knots, with gusts to 30 knots. At the conclusion of his flight, the pilot turned onto the final approach leg with extra airspeed. When the glider had descended between 5 and 10 feet above the ground, a wind gust lifted its right wing upward, and the left wing contacted the ground. The pilot lost control, and the glider cartwheeled and nosed over.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of control during landing flare. Contributing to the accident was the gusty wind condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/23/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1717
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Montague
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96064
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 414653N
Event Location Longitude 1222805W
Event Location Airport Siskiyou County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SIY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2648
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1720 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID SIY
Elevation of weather observation facility 2648
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 14000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 26
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 20
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 30
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.89
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 12355
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 23 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1836
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2002 3:20PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO Sacramento, CA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4427M
NTSB Number LAX01LA220
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Schempp-Hirth
Aircraft Model Nimbus 3/24.5
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 6
Certified Max Gross Weight 1653
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 0
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 16 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 778
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Paul F. DeMeester
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City San Francisco
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94123
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
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) Air Race/Show
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code SIY
Departure City MONTAGUE
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone  rl
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code SIY
Destination City Montague
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2002 3:24PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length 2500
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --