Wsk Pzl Swidnik PW-5 N115TM
23 June 2002 · Loch Lomand, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 23 June 2002 at about 21:15 local time, a Wsk Pzl Swidnik PW-5 registered N115TM was involved in an accident near Loch Lomand, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 21:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Loch Lomand, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Paul Hoberg Airport (Q73)
- Coordinates
- 39.8842, -122.6489
- Aircraft
- Wsk Pzl Swidnik PW-5
- Registration
- N115TM
- Category
- Glider
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Middletown → Loch Lomand
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX02LA208
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions, and his failure to maintain clearance with trees during final approach. A contributing factor was the windshear and turbulence encountered during the approach.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot failed to maintain obstacle clearance while on a visual approach to an airstrip and impacted trees and terrain short of the runway. According to the pilot, he encountered a "severe sink" while soaring and "struggled for +/- 30 minutes to gain altitude." He elected to land the glider at another airport instead of flying to his departure airport. The pilot could not recall much of the landing except for the wind sheer and turbulence. He did indicate a way to avoid such an accident in the future would be to land "when at 1,000 feet, attempting a thermal recovery from 300 feet is dangerous." The closest weather observation facility, 24 miles from the accident site, reported wind speeds between 7 and 11 knots.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 2002 | Ayres S2R-T34 | Firebaugh, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Nov 2002 | Beechcraft A36TC | San Andreas, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 5 May 2002 | Sierra RAF 2000 GTX-SE | Lompoc, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Mar 2002 | Trenti RV-4 | Jacumba, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 23 Feb 2002 | Thunder and Colt COLT 120 A | Moreno Valley, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 21 Sep 2002 | Pzl-Bielsko SZD-42-2 JANTAR | Hemet, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |