Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Sylvania Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sturtevant, Wisconsin 53177
Saturday, October 27, 2001 9:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The glider impacted terrain while attempting an off-airport landing. The pilot reported that she had an aileron flight control problem during the accident flight. The pilot stated turns to the right were made without any anomalies and turns to the left were "stiff and resistant". The pilot reported, "Aircraft did not respond as usual. Airspeed did not equate to attitude." The pilot stated, "There was a sound of air being forced through a crevice or a hole." The pilot described the sound as a "hum or whine". The pilot elected to turn back to the airport and attempt a normal traffic pattern and landing. The pilot reported she executed a right and left turn while on the downwind leg and the turn to the left was "stiff, sluggish and slow to respond." The pilot stated during a right turn to the final approach course she was unable to stop the right turn using left control stick input. The pilot elected to land on a rough and uneven agricultural field adjacent to the airport. A witness to the accident reported the glider had made both right and left turns while in the traffic pattern. According to the Soaring Flight Manual, as published by the Soaring Society of America, "[A turning slip] is accomplished by applying rudder opposite to the turn while maintaining the bank angle with aileron." The manual states, "Caution should be exercised during slips since the airspeed indicator is not accurate. The reason for this situation is that air does not flow directly into the pitot tube in uncoordinated flight. References, such as the position of the nose with respect to the horizon, and sound are usually more reliable." An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) performed the post-accident inspection of the glider. The FAA inspector reported, "To the extent possible, I examined all the flight controls for control continuity, and found no abnormalities."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The restricted movement of the aileron control system for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/27/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 930 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sturtevant |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 53177 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Sylvania Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | C89 |
| 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 | 785 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 853 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 169 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ENW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 743 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.41 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -1037 |
| 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) | 12738 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 27 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1453 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 1 2003 4:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA, Milwaukee FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8833 |
| NTSB Number | CHI02LA013 |
| 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 | Meester |
| Aircraft Model | HP-14 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 75 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 786 |
| 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 | 0 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 3 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Patricia L. Osbakken |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 509 West Chestnut Street |
| Aircraft Owner City | Burlington |
| Aircraft Owner State | WI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 53105 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | C89 |
| Departure City | Sturtevant |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | C89 |
| Destination City | Sturtevant |
| Destination State | WI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 16 2002 7:57AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 26R |
| Runway Length | 2343 |
| Runway Width | 120 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |