ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 60831
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| Date: | Saturday 10 May 2008 |
| Time: | 15:40 |
| Type: |  Schleicher ASK 21 |
| Owner/operator: | Skylark North |
| Registration: | N361KS |
| MSN: | 21224 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Tehachapi, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Tehachapi, CA (L94) |
| Tehachapi, CA (L94) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The glider was being towed to altitude by a tow airplane. During the takeoff initial climb, the spoiler handle was not locked and the spoilers momentarily extended twice and although the pilot felt that he had to input forward control forces, he did not visually check the position of the spoiler control handle. The tow pilot then gave a rudder wave signal to the pilot telling him to check the spoilers; however, because the spoilers appeared retracted when the pilot verified their position, the glider pilot misinterpreted the tow pilot and released the glider from the tow airplane at approximately 100 feet above ground level. The glider pilot force-landed the glider in a field. During the landing, the empennage broke from the remainder of the glider. The glider pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the glider.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight procedures and failure to check the spoiler control position, which resulted in the inadvertent deployment of the spoilers during takeoff. A contributing factor was the pilot's misinterpretation of the tow pilot's instructions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2009 10:50 | DColclasure | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 03-Dec-2017 10:51 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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