BARSTOW, CA, USA
N136AS
LET BLANIK L-13
During a cross-country flight, the pilot of the glider encountered a loss of thermal lift. A forced landing was made to a vacant, unattended, interstate highway rest stop. The rest stop was surrounded by level terrain. During the landing approach, the left wing contacted a light pole, shearing off the wing's outboard 6 feet.
On June 19, 1999, at 1500 hours Pacific daylight time, a Blanik L-13, N136AS, collided with ground obstructions during a off-field landing 38 miles east of Barstow, California. The glider, operated by Antelope Valley Soaring Club, Canoga Park, California, sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot, and sole occupant, was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight departed from a private airstrip at 1230. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan was filed. In a written statement by the pilot, he was on a cross-country flight to Baker, California, and encountered a loss of lift, which made it impossible to make it to an airport. The glider was over level terrain and the pilot selected an off-field landing point located in a rest area along interstate I-15. The glider impacted a pole during the landing, causing the left wing to separate from the glider. The rest area was closed and no one was present at the time of the accident.
The loss of thermal lift that resulted in a forced landing and the pilot's improper glide path that resulted in a collision with a light pole.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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