Payson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Payson, Arizona 85541
Sunday, May 28, 2006 17:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The powered glider was in the traffic pattern for landing. On the downwind, the pilot applied power from an idle setting to full power but the engine did not respond. The pilot did not believe that a safe landing could be made straight ahead due to a residential area. He turned the glider back toward the runway, and in the turn, the glider lost just enough altitude for the left wing tip to contact the ground. The glider pivoted around the wing tip and came to rest upright. An FAA airworthiness inspector examined the engine and found no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Impact related damage to the engine precluded a test run. The FAA inspector also indicated that there was 10 gallons of fuel on board the glider.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/28/2006
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Payson
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85541
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 341524N
Event Location Longitude 1112021W
Event Location Airport Payson Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PAN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5157
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1630 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID PAN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5157
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.87
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) 22386
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 28 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 29 2007 8:02AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-SDL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N637TT
NTSB Number LAX06LA185
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 Diamond Aircraft Industries
Aircraft Model HK 36 TTC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 36.637
Certified Max Gross Weight 1698
Aircraft Category Glider
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours 654
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Aircraft Guaranty Trust LLC Trustee
Aircraft Owner Street Address 515 N. Sam Houston Pkwy E Ste 305
Aircraft Owner City Houston
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77060
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Norman A. Christianson
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Mexico City
Operator State --
Operator Country MX
Operator Zip code 06700
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 PAN
Departure City Payson
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1640
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PAN
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 4 2007 3:26PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --