Biuro Projektowe B Bogumil Ber SZD-56-2 N821W

Summary

On 14 July 2019 at about 19:30 local time, a Biuro Projektowe B Bogumil Ber SZD-56-2 registered N821W was involved in an accident near Sparks, Nevada, 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

14 July 2019 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sparks, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Air Sailing (NV23)

Coordinates

39.8681, -119.7103

Aircraft

Biuro Projektowe B Bogumil Ber SZD-56-2

Registration

N821W

Category

Glider

Year built

2006

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sparks → Sparks

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA447

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to abort the takeoff in a timely manner, which resulted in glider settling into sage brush.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The glider pilot reported that, during an aerotow takeoff, the glider weather vaned off the paved surface of the runway about 200 ft into the takeoff roll. The pilot stated that the glider's tailwheel was too small to roll on the unpaved surface and that the glider's acceleration in the dirt "was not as fast as it needed to be." The tow plane became airborne before the glider, and shortly after the glider became airborne at low airspeed, about 10 to 15 ft above ground level, the glider settled into sage brush and contacted the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. The glider pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation, and that the accident could have been prevented by releasing from the tow plane "before leaving the ground."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.