Lehi, UT, USA
N48038
LET BLANIK L-13
The glider pilot said that he approached the north end of runway 17 for landing. He said "there is a nominal amount of sinking air at all times near the North end of the runway. The day of the incident the sink was far greater than expected." He said that he landed approximately 200 feet short of the runway, and impacted a 3 foot high berm next to an irrigation ditch (which ran perpendicular to the runway) at approximately 50 knots. The glider was "catapulted" over the ditch. The pilot immediately nosed the aircraft down to avoid a stall. "The glider landed flat and hard, crushing the landing gear, then skidding to a halt 75 feet past the runway apron." The glider's keel beam and wing spars were broken.
On July 23, 2002, at approximately 1400 mountain daylight time, a LET Blanik L-13 glider, N48038, was destroyed during a hard landing at Cedar Valley Airpark (private), Lehi, Utah. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The Associated Glider Club of Southern California, Ltd., was operating the glider under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal local flight which originated approximately 30 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan. The pilot said that he approached the north end of runway 17 for landing. He said "there is a nominal amount of sinking air at all times near the North end of the runway. The day of the incident the sink was far greater than expected." He said that he landed approximately 200 feet short of the runway, and impacted a 3 foot high berm next to an irrigation ditch (which ran perpendicular to the runway) at approximately 50 knots. The glider was "catapulted" over the ditch. The pilot immediately nosed the aircraft down to avoid a stall. "The glider landed flat and hard, crushing the landing gear, then skidding to a halt 75 feet past the runway apron." The glider's keel beam and wing spars were broken.
the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning resulting in the glider impacting terrain short of the runway, and the pilot's subsequent abrupt handling of the glider when it became airborne again, which resulted in a hard second landing. A contributing factor was the downdraft weather condition.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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