Cook RS-15 UNREG
28 April 2002 · Richland, Washington, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 28 April 2002 at about 19:00 local time, a Cook RS-15 registered UNREG, operated by Charles E. Bigelow, was involved in an accident near Richland, Washington, 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 19:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Richland, Washington, United States
- Coordinates
- 46.3094, -119.3069
- Aircraft
- Cook RS-15
- Registration
- UNREG
- Category
- Glider
- Operator
- Charles E. Bigelow
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Richland → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA02LA076
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
Airspeed was not maintained while maneuvering. An inadvertent stall, remedial action was not attained, and the student pilot's lack of total experience were factors.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The student pilot reported that he was looking for lift to continue the glider operation when the airspeed "got too slow and the tail dropped and the glider went into a flat spin." The student pilot did not recover from the spin and subsequently collided with the terrain. During the post-accident inspection of the wreckage, no evidence of a pre-impact malfunction of the airframe or flight controls were found. The student pilot reported that this was the first flight in this aircraft since it had been restored. The student pilot's flight records indicated that his last flight instructor signoff for solo operations were about six months prior to the accident, and no flights had been accomplished since the last signoff.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jan 2002 | Cessna 150M | Clinton, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jan 2002 | Cessna 150G | Ilwaco, Washington, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 8 Jan 2002 | Hughes 369E | Grand Coulee, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 2 May 2002 | American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB | Davenport, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jun 2002 | Cessna 172K | Clarkston, Washington, United States | Huck, Barry P. | No injuries | - |
| 18 Mar 2002 | Cessna 152 | NAS Whidbey, Washington, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |