Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Wamic, Oregon 97063
Sunday, May 2, 2004 16:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was beginning to work his way north toward his destination landing site, when he encountered an area where there was not sufficient lift to keep the glider at an altitude that would allow him to continue along his intended route. As the glider descended, the pilot headed toward an area where he knew there was a small airstrip that he would be able to land on. Once the aircraft descended to a height of about 300 feet above the ground, the pilot realized that he could not safely continue en route, so he made the decision that he should commit to the best nearby landing area he could find. Since he was at that time over terrain that was almost completely covered by trees, he selected an area of young/small trees, and flew the glider onto them at a very slow airspeed in an attempt to execute a controlled crash landing. After impacting the trees, the glider slid to the ground, and the pilot exited in a normal manner.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The glider pilot's inadequate en route planning, which resulted in a forced landing in an area without suitable landing terrain. Factors include no suitable landing terrain in the area where the pilot found it necessary to execute a forced landing, and trees at the location where the aircraft came in contact with the terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/2/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Wamic
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97063
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 451055N
Event Location Longitude 1211300W
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 --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
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 --
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) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
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) 16199
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date May 2 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Portland FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N272AS
NTSB Number SEA04LA079
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 SZD
Aircraft Model Jantar 42-1
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number B780
Certified Max Gross Weight 1380
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 26 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7.7
Airframe Hours 898
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gary D. Boggs
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Hood River
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97031
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 4S2
Departure City Hood River
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 4S2
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 22 2004 6:15PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
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 --