Hood River Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hood River, Oregon 97031
Saturday, July 20, 2013 15:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that the glider was 2 miles from the airport on an extended base leg, when it encountered a loss of lift.  He could not make it to the runway, so he landed off airport in a field, which was too short for a normal rollout. The pilot intentionally  ground-looped the glider to avoid a fence, but the terrain was rough, and the  fuselage and right wing were substantially damaged.  The pilot reported no preimpact  mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The glider encountered atmospheric conditions where the lift was not sufficient to maintain flight, which resulted in an off airport landing on rough terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/20/2013
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Hood River
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97031
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 454007N
Event Location Longitude 1213030W
Event Location Airport Hood River
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4S2
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 630
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1545 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KCZK
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 23
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
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 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31997
NTSB Notification Source FAA NWM 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 Aug 22 2013 2:55AM
User who most recently changed record plah
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2052T
NTSB Number WPR13CA333
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name SCHWEIZER
Aircraft Model SGS 2-33A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 497
Certified Max Gross Weight 1380
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 2
Number of Engines 0
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 20 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2254
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gary Boggs
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City HOOD RIVER
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97031-9613
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Gary Boggs
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City HOOD RIVER
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97031-9613
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 4S2
Departure City Hood River
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1459
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 4S2
Destination City Hood River
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 7 2013 8:04PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight Yes
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --