Letecky Zavody L-23 SUPER BLANIK N394BA

Summary

On 10 October 2006 at about 02:33 local time, a Letecky Zavody L-23 SUPER BLANIK registered N394BA was involved in an accident near Chugiak, Alaska, United States. 2 people were 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

10 October 2006 at 02:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Chugiak, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Birchwood (BCV)

Coordinates

61.4164, -149.5072

Aircraft

Letecky Zavody L-23 SUPER BLANIK

Registration

N394BA

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chugiak → Chugiak

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC07CA005

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the glider while landing in gusty crosswind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing and structural damage to the fuselage. Factors associated with the accident were turbulence, a crosswind and wind gusts, and the pilot's inadequate evaluation of the weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported he was attempting to land a glider in a strong and gusty crosswind. He had departed the same airport about 1.5 hours earlier on a personal, Title 14, CFR Part 91 flight. At the time of his departure, there was an active SIGMET for forecast and reported severe turbulence, as well as strong surface winds reported at adjacent airports. Upon his return, he stated that the surface winds and turbulence had increased significantly, and he estimated a 50 degree crosswind at 15 knots, with gusts to 29 knots. During the landing attempt he continued to encounter turbulence, and reported that the glider landed hard on the nose, resulting in structural damage to the forward fuselage and empennage. In his written report to the NTSB, the pilot noted, in part, that the difficulty in controlling the glider during landing was most likely exacerbated by his less than optimal use of the dive brakes, and that flights into such conditions should only be attempted by very experienced pilots

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.