Pilot Debrief

SCHLEICHER ASW-15 near Navasota, TX — 2013-06-22

Final reportCEN13LA369
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Date
2013-06-22
Location
Navasota, TX, USA
Airport
60R
Aircraft
SCHLEICHER ASW-15
Registration
N77VT
Category
Glider
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

An inadvertent aerodynamic stall during the approach for landing.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the glider lost lift during the final leg of a cross-country flight. He chose to divert to a nearby airport to land; however, he subsequently realized that he would not be able to reach that airport, so he attempted to land in an open field. The pilot stated that, when he extended the spoilers at an indicated airspeed of 45 mph on the base leg of the approach, the glider inadvertently stalled and impacted terrain. He reported no preaccident failures or malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot deployed the spoilers with insufficient airspeed during the approach for landing, which resulted in the aerodynamic stall.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to land at a closer field instead of attempting to reach 60R.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 3 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents3

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