Burkhart Grob G103 N5364G

Summary

On 5 May 2002 at about 16:10 local time, a Burkhart Grob G103 registered N5364G was involved in an accident near Fairfield, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 May 2002 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairfield, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Mid-Atlantic Soaring Center (W73)

Coordinates

39.7569, -77.3511

Aircraft

Burkhart Grob G103

Registration

N5364G

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fairfield → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD02LA048

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to attain proper runway alignment. A factor in the accident was the pilot's delay in retracting the spoilers.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot completed a left traffic pattern to land on runway 33L, one of two parallel grass runways. He overshot the runway, and decided to land on runway 33R. He subsequently left the spoilers deployed for too long, and descended faster than expected. He attempted to align the glider with the runway, but was unable to level the wings prior to the left wing tip striking the ground. When asked about the performance of the glider, the pilot stated, "The glider performed fine. It was responding as designed. Unfortunately, the inputs were not correct."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.