Truckee-Tahoe Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Truckee, California 96161
Saturday, July 7, 2007 14:55 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The glider sustained damage during a hard landing. A wind gust was encountered during the glider pilot's landing flare and the glider rapidly descended from 2 to 3 feet above the runway until touching down hard, collapsing the main landing gear and breaking structural bulkheads in the fuselage. The pilot's approach to the runway had been uneventful and appeared normal until the landing flare, according to a certified flight instructor who witnessed the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for a wind gust during landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/7/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1455
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Truckee
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96161
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 391912N
Event Location Longitude 1200822W
Event Location Airport Truckee-Tahoe
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TRK
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5900
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID TRK
Elevation of weather observation facility 5900
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) -2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.19
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) 22153
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 7 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 30 2007 12:18PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Reno, NV

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N132SS
NTSB Number LAX07CA223
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Burkhart Grob Flugzeugbau
Aircraft Model G102 Astir CS
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1286
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 0
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Northern California Soaring Association
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Byron
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code TRK
Departure City Truckee
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code TRK
Destination City Truckee
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 15 2007 4:39PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19
Runway Length 4650
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --