Seminole Lake Gliderport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Clermont, Florida 34712
Saturday, March 5, 2005 16:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated he entered the traffic pattern on the downwind leg for runway 18. He was turning to base leg when he realized his airspeed was too low. The glider stalled in the turn and dropped in to the woods, coming to rest in a near vertical position suspended by trees. The glider incurred damage to the right and left wings along with the fuselage, tail, and canopy. The pilot stated there was no mechanical failures or malfunctions to the glider or any its systems prior the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilots failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in the glider stalling and impact with trees during the uncontrolled descent.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/5/2005
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Clermont
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34712
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 282435N
Event Location Longitude 0815016W
Event Location Airport Seminole Lake Gliderport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 6FLO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID GIF
Elevation of weather observation facility 120
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.07
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) 17794
NTSB Notification Source FAA Atlanta Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 5 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2110
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 FSDO 15

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N92DG
NTSB Number MIA05CA074
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 Dgflugzeugbau
Aircraft Model DG-800S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 8-217S43
Certified Max Gross Weight 1157
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 May 12 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 38.5
Airframe Hours 199.3
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Donald K. Taylor
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4915 Windrift Way
Aircraft Owner City Carmel
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46033
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 6FLO
Departure City Clermont
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 6FLO
Destination City Clermont
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 1 2005 3:24PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 300
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --