Schleicher ASW-24E N24YB

Summary

On 28 July 2003 at about 17:15 local time, a Schleicher ASW-24E registered N24YB was involved in an accident near Hood River, Oregon, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 July 2003 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Hood River, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.6772, -121.5361

Aircraft

Schleicher ASW-24E

Registration

N24YB

Category

Glider

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hood River → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA157

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to refuel prior to the flight, resulting in fuel exhaustion during the initial climb, followed by the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed. An inadvertent stall was a factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had just purchased the powered glider the day before the accident and accomplished one successful flight. Shortly after takeoff for the third flight on the second day, witnesses reported that the glider attained an altitude of approximately 300 feet agl when the engine lost power. The glider made a turn when it appeared to stall and then descended into an orchard. Post accident inspection of the engine revealed no fuel was present in the fuel lines to the engine and no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfuntion was found. The wing fuel tanks had been breached during the impact sequence. The previous owner reported that the glider had about 2.1 gallons of fuel, or about 40 minutes of engine run time at the beginning of the first flight. The owner also reported that after the accident, he noted that the same amount of fuel was still present in the spare fuel can used for fueling from the day before the accident. No fuel was added after the first flight on the first day. The installed Cambridge flight recorder indicated the engine run time for the two previous flights to be 28 minutes. The third flight was not recorded.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.