Marlette Township Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marlette, Michigan 48453
Saturday, August 4, 2001 15:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The CFI reported that during the takeoff the left hook of the winch harness released, uncommanded, from the center of gravity attachment. The glider yawed to the left toward a ditch on the west side of the runway. The CFI applied right aileron and full right rudder in an attempt to avoid the ditch however the glider continued into the ditch. The glider came to rest bridging the ditch on a heading of east. He reported that the ditch was full of broken and cut down brush and saplings. During the impact, a broken branch penetrated the left side of the cockpit and impaled itself in the CFI's right calf. The CFI remained hospitalized for five days following the accident. Members of the glider club reported that they had hooked both the left and right side cables prior to the takeoff. Inspection of the tow winch failed to reveal any mechanical failure/malfunction.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Ground crew personnel improperly connected the tow winch cable prior to takeoff which resulted in one side of the winch cable coming disconnected. Factors associated with the accident were the ditch and the tree branch which the airplane contacted.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/4/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Marlette
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48453
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Marlette Township
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 77G
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 895
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 240
Weather Observation Facility ID FNT
Elevation of weather observation facility 782
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 40
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) 2868
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 1
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11047
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 13 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1408
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 28 2001 7:25AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Detroit, MI FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9297Z
NTSB Number CHI01LA277
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Blanik
Aircraft Model L-13
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 026505
Certified Max Gross Weight 1102
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 2
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 13 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 17
Airframe Hours 1314
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Vultures Soaring Club
Aircraft Owner Street Address 590 Robertson Ct.
Aircraft Owner City Lake Orion
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48362
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Peter Sisoy
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 6513 Grandmont Avenue
Operator City Detroit
Operator State MI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 48228
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 77G
Departure City Marlette
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Marlette
Destination State MI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 8 2001 8:37AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 01
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --