Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Skylark Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Lake Elsinore, California 92530
Saturday, September 12, 2009 14:53 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Shortly after takeoff, the tow airplane pilot felt slack in the tow line and in response he attempted to slow the airplane. He then felt the airplane surge forward and looked back to observe the glider in a sharp turn. The pilot noted his altitude was between 225 to 250 feet above the ground. Witnesses reported that it appeared that the glider released from the tow airplane, and then veered sharply to the right before it entered into a nose dive and impacted the ground. A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector established flight control continuity of the glider at the accident site. He also noted that the tow line had broken at the weak link. The weak link is a safety line that is designed to release under sudden or extreme loads to protect/ensure that the airframe of the glider is not damaged. The weak link can break at low altitude, causing an inadvertent release.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the glider after the tow line released during the initial climb.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/12/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1453 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Lake Elsinore |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 92530 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 333748N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1171806W |
| Event Location Airport | Skylark Field Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CA89 |
| 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 | 1253 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RIV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1535 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| 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) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.8 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 27964 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA AWP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 25 2011 4:57PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N7656 |
| NTSB Number | WPR09LA449 |
| 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 | SCHWEIZER |
| Aircraft Model | SGS 1-34 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17274326 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 0 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | L E S C |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 317 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wildomar |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 92595 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | William R Klesse |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Redondo Beach |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 90278 |
| 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 | CA89 |
| Departure City | Lake Elsinore |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1453 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | CA89 |
| Destination City | Lake Elsinore |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 25 2011 4:57PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 29L |
| Runway Length | 2800 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |