Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boulder, Colorado 80301
Thursday, August 7, 2003 14:15 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he noted the formation of thunderstorms and rain showers along his route of flight. He elected to return to the airport. During his return flight, thunderstorms developed along the foothills, just west of the airport. Due to the inadequate lift to sustain flight and with unsuitable terrain between his position and the airport, the pilot decided to perform a precautionary landing in the reservoir. During the precautionary landing, the glider was substantially damaged.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision making. Contributing factors include the thunderstorms, the lack of suitable terrain available for a precautionary landing and the water.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/7/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1415
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Boulder
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80301
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395700N
Event Location Longitude 1052200W
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 10
Degrees magnetic from airport 230
Airport Elevation 5288
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1433 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 100
Weather Observation Facility ID BJC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5670
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 10000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 10000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 30
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
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) 30.2
Density Altitude (feet) 8523
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) 14722
NTSB Notification Source FAA COMM CTR
NTSB Notification Date Aug 7 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1630
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 5 2004 4:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, CO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N25RN
NTSB Number DEN03LA143
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 Ventus B/16.6
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 221
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 1
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 7 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 35
Airframe Hours 1600
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pedja Bogdanovich
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1630 30th St. #510
Aircraft Owner City Boulder
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80301
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 No
Departure Airport Code 1V5
Departure City Boulder
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 1V5
Destination City Boulder
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 18 2003 11:50AM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --