Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hugguenot, New York 12746
Tuesady, July 5, 2011 16:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot he experienced a loss of lift while soaring and performed an off-field landing to a field that was surrounded by powerlines and trees. He said that he landed further down the field than anticipated and the glider overran the runway, impacted a fence, crossed a road, and impacted another fence, causing substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot further reported that the flight log revealed a tailwind of approximately 13 knots on the final leg of the approach, and stated that there was no mechanical malfunction with the glider.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point during a tailwind landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/5/2011
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Hugguenot
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12746
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 412420N
Event Location Longitude 0743807W
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 1653 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 178
Weather Observation Facility ID KFWN
Elevation of weather observation facility 421
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
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) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28866
NTSB Notification Source Eastern Region 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 19 2011 10:45AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N41ZX
NTSB Number ERA11CA381
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 SCHLEICHER
Aircraft Model ASW-28
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28010
Certified Max Gross Weight 1157
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 561
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ASW 28 CORP
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Bath
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 18014
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Michael S. Smith
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Bath
Operator State PA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code --
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 N82
Departure City Wurstboro
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1315
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code N82
Destination City Wurstboro
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 24 2011 10:45AM
User who most recently changed record gots
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 --