Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Marana, Arizona 85653
Sunday, April 25, 2010 17:00 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The glider pilot had been checked out in the glider the day of the accident and it was the first time she had flown this make and model. Approximately two hours into the flight, she smelled a burning rubber smell before all of the electronics ceased operating. She turned back to her departure airport, but due to her lack of experience she was unable to find a thermal and the glider continued to descend. During the forced off-field landing, the glider impacted trees and desert brush. Postaccident examination of the glider revealed that the cable supplying power to the removable data logger was routed improperly and had rubbed against a metal computer port, causing an electrical short and disabling the glide computer, global positioning system, and the vertical speed indicator.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inability to find thermal lift. Contributing to the accident was the failure of a computer that provided glide information and vertical speed instrumentation as a result of an improperly routed electrical cable that caused a short in the electrical system and the pilot's lack of experience in the glider.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/25/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1700 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Marana |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 85653 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 322936N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1112942W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1650 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RYN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2417 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 350 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 15 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.93 |
| 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) | 26962 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Com Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 17 2010 10:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N500JN |
| NTSB Number | WPR10CA215 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PZL-Swidnik |
| Aircraft Model | PW-5 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1706010 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 10 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1834 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | TUCSON SOARING CLUB INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 7320 N LACHOLLA STE 154 |
| Aircraft Owner City | TUCSON |
| Aircraft Owner State | AZ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 85741-2305 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | TUCSON SOARING CLUB INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 7320 N LACHOLLA STE 154 |
| Operator City | TUCSON |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 85741-2305 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | AZ67 |
| Departure City | El Tiro |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1500 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | AZ67 |
| Destination City | El Tiro |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 17 2010 10:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |