Lone Pine Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lone Pine, California 93545
Friday, September 19, 2003 15:03 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The glider collided with power lines shortly after the pilot released from the tow airplane. Prior to departure, the pilot assembled the glider by himself. During the initial climb out, the tow airplane's climb performance was poor, and the tow pilot noticed that the glider's spoilers were in the deployed position. The tow pilot opted to return back to the airport and while in the turn, the glider pilot released from the towline. The glider pilot announced over the radio that he was having problems with the spoilers and planned to attempt to maneuver back to the airport. The glider turned and then continued on a flight path until impacting high-tension power lines. The glider's service manual states that prior to departure the pilot should check the function of the control surfaces, and ensure that the spoilers are operating properly. A post accident examination of the spoiler control rods inside the fuselage revealed that the inboard sections of both control rods were not connected to their corresponding bell crank. The glider is designed in such a way that to assemble the spoilers, the person performing the assembly must access the control rods from the cockpit, by going through the aft bulkhead. While connecting the spoilers, it is not possible to visually assess how to make the assembly. The assembly must be done by feeling the parts and connecting them without any visual reference.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate assembly of the glider and improper preflight inspection, which resulted in an inadvertent deployment of the spoilers. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance. His diverted attention to the control problems presented by the deployed spoilers was a contributing factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/19/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1503
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Lone Pine
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 93545
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 363522N
Event Location Longitude 1180124W
Event Location Airport Lone Pine Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID O26
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 90
Degrees magnetic from airport 2
Airport Elevation 3680
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1556 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID BIH
Elevation of weather observation facility 4120
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 49
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
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) 29.94
Density Altitude (feet) 6821
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17749
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Sep 19 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 8 2005 12:51PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Las Vegas, NV FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N71DA
NTSB Number LAX03LA291
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 Standard Cirrus
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 145
Certified Max Gross Weight 728
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
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 Hans J. Langer
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Orange
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92665
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 026
Departure City Lone Pine
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1440
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 25 2005 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --