Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Owl Canyon Gliderport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Wellington, Colorado 80549
Sunday, March 20, 2011 14:15 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was performing a local glider flight when the accident occurred. A witness saw the glider release from the towplane and saw the glider maneuver in steep bank turns as it descended during those turns. At one point, the glider was observed to enter a rapid "zoom" climb followed by a brief period of inverted flight before descending, wings level, about 60-degrees pitch down, into the ground. The glider was subsequently found in a ravine; the glider’s right wing had impacted an embankment and sustained substantial damage, and its dive brake was found extended. The left wing’s dive brake was found retracted.
A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot did not have a current medical certificate, but he was not required to have a medical certificate for glider operations.
An autopsy indicated that the pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries and that cardiac disease may have been contributory. The pilot had a documented history of cardiac disease and had a pacemaker implant. The pacemaker was last checked about one month prior to the accident and it was operating normally at that time. A readout of the pilot’s pacemaker indicated that about the time of the accident the pilot experienced a ventricular tachycardia. The degree of the pilot’s injuries made it highly unlikely that he experienced the ventricular tachycardia as a result of the injuries, but that he experienced the condition prior to impact. The symptoms the pilot would have experienced as a result of the ventricular tachycardia likely impaired or incapacitated the pilot, and resulted in his loss of control of the glider.
The toxicology results support the pilot’s use of prescription pain medications the evening before as indicated by his personal physician. None of these was in the therapeutic range at the time of the crash and were therefore unlikely to have contributed to the etiology of the event.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's loss of glider control due to impairment or incapacitation caused by an episode of ventricular tachycardia.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/20/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1415 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Wellington |
| Event State | COLORADO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 80549 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 404817N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1045905W |
| Event Location Airport | Owl Canyon Gliderport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 4CO2 |
| 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 | 5545 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1415 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 182 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FNL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5016 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 21 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| 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) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.89 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KFNL 202015Z AUTO 09014G21KT 10SM CLR 17/M09 A2989 |
| 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) | 30547 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-DEN-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 23 2012 9:18PM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N99AE |
| NTSB Number | CEN11LA239 |
| 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 | GLASFLUGEL |
| Aircraft Model | STANDARD LIBELLE |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 182 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 13 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 1565 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Pilot |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fort Collins |
| Aircraft Owner State | CO |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 80525 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Pilot |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Fort Collins |
| Operator State | CO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 80525 |
| 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 | 4CO2 |
| Departure City | Wellington |
| Departure State | CO |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1406 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 4CO2 |
| Destination City | Wellington |
| Destination State | CO |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 24 2012 11:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| 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 | -- |