Flf Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Briggs, Texas 78608
Sunday, July 21, 2002 17:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the landing roll, on 300-foot wide grass airstrip, the right wing of the glider dropped and struck the tall grass adjacent to the runway. Subsequently, the glider ground-looped and came to rest on a 340 degree magnetic heading. The tailboom was fractured at the leading edge of the stabilizer. The pilot stated the wind was approximately 3 to 5 knots from the south. The wing span of the glider was approximately 66 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the high grass during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/21/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Briggs
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78608
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 305122N
Event Location Longitude 0975645W
Event Location Airport FLF
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TX23
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 1180
Weather Briefing Completeness Partial - limited by pilot
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
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) 35
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
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 --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12810
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 22 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 730
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 San Antonio, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N141SF
NTSB Number FTW02LA219
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 K.G.
Aircraft Model Nimbus-2C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 220
Certified Max Gross Weight 1433
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Mar 16 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 21.4
Airframe Hours 1029.7
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name George W. P. Reinhart
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5212 Doe Valley Lane
Aircraft Owner City Austin
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78759
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 TX23
Departure City BRIGGS
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone SW
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code TX23
Destination City Briggs
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Dec 3 2002 1:07PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 16
Runway Length 4500
Runway Width 300
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --