Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pleasant Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Peoria, Arizona 85383
Sunday, December 28, 2003 13:12 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The commercial certificated pilot of an aerobatic glider, with one passenger, was performing a series of aerobatic maneuvers within an aerobatic box, which was adjacent to runway 5L at an uncontrolled airport. The aerobatic box measured 1 kilometer square, and extended from the surface up to 6,600 feet msl (5000' agl). The southern boundary of the aerobatic box was located about 1,490 feet north of runway 5L's centerline. Concurrently, a Piper J3C airplane with the commercial pilot/flight instructor/airplane owner seated in the front seat, and a private pilot seated in the rear seat, departed runway 5L, and made a left downwind turn into the area where the glider was performing the aerobatic maneuvers. Witnesses said that as the glider reached the top of the loop, the nose lowered, eventually pointing straight down. As the glider began to recover from the maneuver, about 600 feet agl, the left wing of the oncoming Piper struck the tail of the glider between the empennage and the main fuselage, severing the empennage of the glider. Witnesses said that during the collision, a large portion of the left outboard wing of the Piper separated, and both the glider and the Piper entered uncontrolled descents. Both aircraft came to rest close to the center of the aerobatic box. According to the airport facilities directory, aircraft departing from runway 5L, are instructed to fly a right-hand traffic pattern. However, the airport's segmented circle depicts a left-hand departure from runway 5L. Radio equipped aircraft may utilize a common traffic advisory frequency of 122.9 Hz. Neither of the aircraft involved in the accident had a radio, nor were they required to. The front seat pilot of the Piper had based the accident airplane at the accident airport for several years, and was familiar with the procedures for operating at the airport.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadequate visual lookout by the pilots of both aircraft, which resulted in their failure to see-and-avoid each other's aircraft and a subsequent midair collision. A factor associated with the accident was the airplane pilot's failure to determine that the aerobatic box was in use by the glider prior to his entry into the aerobatic box.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/28/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1312 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Peoria |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85383 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | Yes |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 334804N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1121504W |
| Event Location Airport | PLEASANT VALLEY |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | P48 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 360 |
| Airport Elevation | 1580 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Witness |
| 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 | -- |
| 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) | 50 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Light and Variable |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16809 |
| NTSB Notification Source | LAX FAA, ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 28 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1330 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 28 2004 12:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Western Pacific Region, Scottsdale, AZ |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2094M | N274KS |
| NTSB Number | ANC04FA016A | ANC04FA016B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No | No |
| Damage | Destroyed | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper | Schleicher |
| Aircraft Model | J3C-65 | ASK-21 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 20873 | 21195 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1220 | 1323 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Glider |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 8 2003 12:00AM | Nov 10 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 3574.9 | 10123.4 |
| ELT Installed | Yes | No |
| ELT Activated | Yes | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No | No |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Carl G. Remmel | Baboquivari Soaring School, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 13250 Bellwood Drive | 8700 West Carefree Highway |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sun City | Peoria |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85375 | 85383 |
| Operator is an individual? | No | No |
| Operator Name | -- | Turf Soaring School |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- | 8700 West Carefree Highway |
| Operator City | -- | Peoria |
| Operator State | -- | AZ |
| Operator Country | -- | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- | 85383 |
| Operator Code | -- | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None | 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 | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | P48 | P48 |
| Departure City | Pleasant Valley | Peoria |
| Departure State | AZ | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA | USA |
| Departure Time | 1310 | 1250 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | P48 | P48 |
| Destination City | Peoria | Peoria |
| Destination State | AZ | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - downwind | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 15 2004 4:02PM | Nov 15 2004 4:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PETL | PETL |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA | -- |
| Runway Length | -- | -- |
| Runway Width | -- | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |