Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Tullahoma Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tullahoma, Tennessee 37360
Sunday, August 23, 2009 16:52 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot had completed his first flight in his newly purchased glider earlier in the day. He stated that the flight lasted about 2.3 hours and was "an absolute pleasure." A witness familiar with the make and model of the accident glider had flown alongside the accident pilot in an identical glider during the flight, and stated that the accident pilot's takeoff, flight, and landing were "textbook examples." During the second flight of the day, the accident pilot was towed to 1,000 feet above ground level for the purpose of making a traffic pattern flight with a subsequent landing. The pilot stated that the downwind leg of the traffic pattern turning to the base leg was "high." The pilot applied full flaps, and stated that on the final leg of the traffic pattern, his sight picture was "still high," and the runway was "easily made." The pilot's sight picture then "quickly" changed to "short of the runway," and he realized he would not clear the trees prior to the runway. The pilot pitched up to avoid the trees, and after clearing them, "unloaded the wings" and "dived" into a parking lot. The glider impacted the parking lot and came to rest after the left wing impacted a tree. The glider sustained substantial damage to the left wing and vertical stabilizer. Neither the pilot nor a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who examined the glider after the accident, reported any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies. Several witnesses on the ground reported a noticeable subsidence of wind while the glider was on the final leg of the traffic pattern. The nearest weather reporting station, located approximately 50 miles northwest of the accident site, reported winds from 320 degrees at 10 knots at the time of the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain a proper glidepath while on approach, resulting in landing short of the runway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/23/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1652 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Tullahoma |
| Event State | TENNESSEE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 37360 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 352249N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0861447W |
| Event Location Airport | Tullahoma Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | THA |
| 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 | 1083 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1653 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 335 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BNA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 599 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 49 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.98 |
| 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) | 26179 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 15 2009 4:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N504BT |
| NTSB Number | ERA09CA479 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Jonker |
| Aircraft Model | JS-1B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1B-004 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1320 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 0 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 19 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 122 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Barton L. Tate |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Moriarty |
| Aircraft Owner State | NM |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 87035 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Barton L. Tate |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Monticello |
| Operator State | KY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 42633 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | THA |
| Departure City | Tullahoma |
| Departure State | TN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | THA |
| Destination City | Tullahoma |
| Destination State | TN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 15 2009 4:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | muzd |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 5002 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |