Accident LET L-13 Blaník N70741,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 65986
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Wednesday 31 July 2002
Time:14:45
Type:Silhouette image of generic ll13 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
LET L-13 Blaník
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N70741
MSN: 027341
Total airframe hrs:2100 hours
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Belgrade, MT -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Belgrade, MT (BZN)
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
Just about the time the glider pilot was ready to initiate his base turn for the parallel sod runway, the tower controller asked him if he saw the traffic on a one mile final to the paved runway. According to the pilot, he then let go of the spoiler handle (the spoilers were partially deployed), in order to reach the microphone that was stored in a pocket on the right side of the glider. He advised the tower that he did not have the traffic in sight, put the microphone back in the pocket, and then reached back for the spoiler handle. At that time he discovered that the spoilers had deployed to the full open position. The pilot then immediately retracted the spoilers and made a turn to final. After turning final, the pilot realized that he probably would not be able to make it to the threshold of the sod runway, but because of the aircraft on final for the paved runway, he made the decision not to request a change to that runway (the threshold of which was approximately 2,500 feet closer to his position at the time). As the pilot continued on toward the threshold of the sod runway, he attempted to maneuver toward its right side in order to avoid some stakes that were between him and the runway threshold, and in order to land well clear of the paved runway. Ultimately the aircraft touched down approximately 200 feet short of the sod runway threshold and 50 feet to the right of its right edge. Although the initial touchdown in the tall weeds was uneventful, almost immediately after starting the landing roll, the aircraft impacted a ditch that the pilot had not been aware of.
Probable Cause: The glider pilot's improper in-flight planning decision and his failure to attain the proper touchdown point. Contributing to the accident were the inadvertent activation of the speed brakes, the pilot's failure to maintain altitude, the high vegetation and the ditch.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: SEA02LA140
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20020812X01367&key=1

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
27-Jun-2009 00:03 DColclasure Added
21-Dec-2016 19:25 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
09-Dec-2017 16:55 ASN Update Bot Updated [Cn, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org