Let L-13 BLANIK N302SL

Summary

On 16 August 2003 at about 16:05 local time, a Let L-13 BLANIK registered N302SL was involved in an accident near Highland, Illinois, 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

16 August 2003 at 16:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Highland, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Highland-Winet Airport (H07)

Coordinates

38.7792, -89.6406

Aircraft

Let L-13 BLANIK

Registration

N302SL

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Highland → Highland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI03LA328

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to extend the spoilers and his inadvertent use of the flaps during final approach, which resulted in the proper touchdown point being exceeded due to excessive airspeed. A factor to the accident was the dirt mound.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The glider overran the end of the runway while landing and impacted a dirt mound. The pilot reported that he was obtaining flight instruction for the addition of a glider rating and the accident occurred during his first solo flight. The pilot stated the flight was uneventful until he turned onto final approach. The pilot reported that he was high on final and had to slip to lose altitude. The pilot stated that during the slip the glider had "picked up some airspeed." The pilot reported that the glider landed "long, fast, and as a result hit the mound at the edge of the airport perimeter dirt road." The pilot stated that several witnesses recalled not seeing the spoilers deployed during the final approach and landing. The pilot surmised that he had mistakenly repositioned his hand on the flap lever and as a result had been raising and lowering the flaps instead of the spoilers.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.