Schempp-Hirth DISCUS 2B N15MM

Summary

On 9 May 2005 at about 00:00 local time, a Schempp-Hirth DISCUS 2B registered N15MM, operated by John H Weber, was involved in an accident near Peoria, Arizona, 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

9 May 2005 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Peoria, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Pleasant Valley (KP48)

Coordinates

33.9250, -112.3100

Aircraft

Schempp-Hirth DISCUS 2B

Registration

N15MM

Category

Glider

Operator

John H Weber

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Peoria → Peoria

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05CA161

Nobody was injured.

the glider pilot encountered a downdraft that forced him to land in rough terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The glider was damaged during a forced landing 1.5 miles south of the landing strip in rocky desert terrain. The pilot was on a circular cross-country flight designed to depart, and then return to the same airport. Along the route there were numerous navigation turn points to maintain a proper track on the course. About 250 miles into the flight, and at the second to last turn point, the pilot determined that he did not have enough altitude to make it to the last turn point before heading back to the airport. His flight computer indicated that he had enough altitude to go directly to the destination airport with a 1,000-foot altitude margin. While returning he encountered some downward subsiding air of about 7-8 knots (700-800 feet per minute downdraft). At this point he determined that he would not make it to the destination airport and decided to divert to an auxiliary dirt landing strip to make a precautionary landing. The pilot did not make it all the way to the auxiliary strip and landed about 1.5 miles south, in rocky desert terrain. The pilot stated that the glider had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.