ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 297522
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| Date: | Sunday 10 March 2002 |
| Time: | 10:10 LT |
| Type: |  Schweizer SGS 1-26A |
| Owner/operator: | John Lewis |
| Registration: | N3878A |
| MSN: | 38 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Strausburg, Virginia -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Front Royal-Warren County Airport, VA (FRR/KFRR) |
| Front Royal-Warren County Airport, VA (FRR/KFRR) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The glider was towed to altitude by a tow plane, and once released, the pilot flew towards the northeast portion of a mountain ridge to take advantage of "booming ridge lift." As the glider approached the ridge, it encountered insufficient thermal lift to maintain altitude, and the pilot performed a forced landing to a field. The pilot flew a traffic pattern approach, and during the downwind leg, the glider continued to lose altitude. As the pilot made a right turn onto the base leg of the traffic pattern, the glider's right wing struck a tree and the glider impacted the ground in a 70-degree nose down attitude. The pilot received an "outlook" weather briefing about 24 hours before his flight, which forecasted the winds to be from 290 degrees at 20 knots, with higher gusts. He did not receive an additional weather briefing; however, his visual observation of two wind socks at the airport indicated the winds were in agreement with the forecast. Examination of the glider revealed no mechanical deficiencies.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadequate evaluation of weather resulted in a loss of thermal lift, which resulted in an impact with trees.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB IAD02LA036
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Oct-2022 19:37 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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