Alamogordo, NM, USA
N991JB
Centrair 101C
The pilot was landing on a dirt strip that parallels the main runway. Surface winds were "light." Approximately 25 to 50 feet above the ground, the pilot encountered a "heavy sink" and realized he was probably going to touch down in a ditch perpendicular to the dirt strip. The glider touched down at the far end of the ditch. The right wing dropped and struck a runway marker causing substantial damage to glider. The glider spun around and came to a stop 120 to 150 feet from the marker.
The pilot was landing on the dirt strip that parallels runway 21. Surface winds were "light." Approximately 25 to 50 feet above the ground, the pilot encountered "heavy sink" and realized he was probably going to touch down in a ditch perpendicular to the dirt strip. The glider touched down at the far end of the ditch. The right wing dropped and struck a runway marker. The glider spun around and came to a stop 120 to 150 feet from the marker. The pilot reported no anomalies with the glider prior to the accident. He reported finding a 2 ft. x 2 ft. hole in the right wing leading edge, and several stress cracks and skin delamination on the top and bottom surfaces of the wing. The tail wheel was severed from the fuselage and bent. He said, "wing spar damage and internal fuselage damage were likely."
The pilot's inability to control the glider after encountering the downdraft causing the glider to land short of the dirt strip. Factors contributing to the accident were the downdraft and the runway marker.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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