Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hampshire, Illinois 60140
Saturday, May 24, 2003 16:10 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The glider sustained substantial damage when it struck a rock while conducting an off-airport landing. The pilot reported that during the 2 hour and 40 minute flight he reached a maximum altitude of 8,200 feet agl. The pilot reported that the glider lost altitude for the remainder of the flight. The pilot stated that he realized he would be unable to reach the airport and decided to perform an off-airport landing to an nearby agricultural field. The pilot reported that upon landing he felt the tail wheel strike something hard. When he exited the aircraft, he found he had struck a large rock which was not visible when he made his landing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The unsuitable terrain encountered by the pilot during the off airport landing. A factor was the rock.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/24/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1610
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Hampshire
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 60140
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 420915N
Event Location Longitude 0883041W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 310
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1605 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 20
Weather Observation Facility ID KDKB
Elevation of weather observation facility 915
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
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) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
Density Altitude (feet) 1660
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) 14197
NTSB Notification Source Pilot
NTSB Notification Date Jun 3 2003 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 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA - DuPage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3650
NTSB Number CHI03LA146
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 Glasflugel
Aircraft Model Libelle 201B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 166
Certified Max Gross Weight 771
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 Aug 6 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 18
Airframe Hours 1428.7
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William Marshall Lee
Aircraft Owner Street Address 84 Otis Road
Aircraft Owner City Barrington
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 60010
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
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 No
Departure Airport Code 55LL
Departure City Union
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2003 11:09AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --