Let BLANIK L-13 N12YA

Summary

On 2 September 2006 at about 21:00 local time, a Let BLANIK L-13 registered N12YA was involved in an accident near Hampshire, Illinois, 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

2 September 2006 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hampshire, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Sky Soaring Airport (55LL)

Coordinates

42.1542, -88.5114

Aircraft

Let BLANIK L-13

Registration

N12YA

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hampshire → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI06CA252

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate approach for landing and his failure to attain a proper descent rate.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The glider sustained substantial damage when it ground looped and skidded to a stop while landing at a grass airstrip. The pilot reported that after releasing from the tow airplane at 3,000 feet above ground level (agl), no thermal lift was encountered so he returned to the airstrip for landing. He reported that he experienced a sink rate that "seemed very excessive" during the downwind leg. He "cut the pattern short" and turned onto the base leg, which resulted in the glider being high on the base leg. The pilot reported that he deployed the spoilers, but he was slow to retract the spoilers due to the "heavy force required to push the handle forward." The glider lost altitude. The pilot reported that the left wing caught the grass about the same time the glider touched down with the nose about 20 degrees off the runway heading.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.