N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Preston, Idaho 83263
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 18:04 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The glider pilot reported that he was unable to find thermals that would provide suitable lift for continued flight. Subsequently, a field was selected that the pilot assessed was adequate for a successful landing. After overflying the field at 1,000 feet above ground level the pilot began his approach. The approach and touchdown were uneventful. During the landing roll, as the pilot deployed the speedbrakes and applied braking, the glider pitched forward and the left and right wings contacted crops that were located on either side of the glider's landing roll. The left wing engaged the crops more fully than the right wing and the glider yawed to the left before coming to rest. As a result, the empennage was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe that would have precluded normal flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The glider's impact with crops during the off-airport landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/20/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1804
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Preston
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83263
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 433029N
Event Location Longitude 1120408W
Event Location Airport N/A
Event Location Nearest Airport ID N/A
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 1751 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 208
Weather Observation Facility ID KLGU
Elevation of weather observation facility 4457
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 14
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 186
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.88
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KLGU 212351Z AUTO 20006KT 10SM CLR 31/03 A29
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 Docket Number (internal use) 28793
NTSB Notification Source FAA 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 6 2011 11:34AM
User who most recently changed record rows
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N78AB
NTSB Number WPR11CA342
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 SCHLEICHER
Aircraft Model ASW-27
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 27207
Certified Max Gross Weight 1102
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 May 24 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 532
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BLACKBURN L ANDERSON
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City ATHERTON
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 94027-3806
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name BLACKBURN L ANDERSON
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Atherton
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 94027
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 LGU
Departure City Logan
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1457
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code N/A
Destination City Preston
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 28 2011 5:21PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --