Alexander Schleicher Gmbh & ASW 27-18 N429SH
15 February 2024 · Polk City, Florida, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 15 February 2024 at about 22:10 local time, a Alexander Schleicher Gmbh & ASW 27-18 registered N429SH was involved in an accident near Polk City, Florida, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 22:10
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Polk City, Florida, United States
- Coordinates
- 28.3027, -81.7817
- Aircraft
- Alexander Schleicher Gmbh & ASW 27-18
- Registration
- N429SH
- Category
- Glider
- Year built
- 2008
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Groveland → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA24LA119
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The glider pilot’s misjudged altitude, which resulted in an off-airport landing and collision with a fence.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot of the glider reported that prior to the accident flight, he had not flown in over 90 days. The purpose of the accident flight was to refamiliarize himself with the tasking area of an upcoming soaring contest, with a general aim to stay within gliding distance of the departure gliderport. For about 2 hours, the pilot flew south of the gliderport at altitudes between 3,000 to 4,000 ft above ground level. He then encountered weaker soaring conditions and miscalculated his altitude by 300 ft due to a discrepancy between the glider’s primary altimeter and the altitude displayed on his GPS/moving map computer. By that time, he was too low to glide back to the gliderport and elected to land in a field about 5 miles southeast of it. During the landing, the left wing struck a fence and sustained substantial damage. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the glider.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Alexander Schleicher Gmbh & ASW-27 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 2026 | Alexander Schleicher Gmbh & ASW 27-18 | Greenwood, South Carolina, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Jul 2021 | Alexander Schleicher Gmbh & ASW 27-18 | Sterling, Massachusetts, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Jun 2009 | Alexander Schleicher Gmbh & ASW 27-18E | Ephrata, Washington, United States | Timothy Donovan | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Feb 2024 | Bombardier CL-600-2B16 | Naples, Florida, United States | Ace Aviation Services | Fatal | 2 |
| 26 Aug 2024 | Aeronca 65-TAC | Clearwater, Florida, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 13 Apr 2024 | Cessna 140 | Holt, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 7 Jun 2024 | Piper PA28R | Vero Beach, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Jul 2024 | Trozzi Thomas SEAREY | Eustis, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Dec 2024 | Buckeye DREAM MACHINE | Myakka City, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |