Let L-23 N55BR
12 April 1998 · New Castle, Virginia, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 12 April 1998 at about 22:00 local time, a Let L-23 registered N55BR was involved in an accident near New Castle, Virginia, 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 22:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- New Castle, Virginia, United States
- Nearest airport
- New Castle (VA85)
- Coordinates
- 37.4994, -80.1106
- Aircraft
- Let L-23
- Registration
- N55BR
- Category
- Glider
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- IAD98LA046
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the turn to reverse direction. A factor was his improper use of the speed brake.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to the student pilot, he had flown the glider for about an hour uneventfully. During the landing, he overshot runway 36 and tried to make a 180 degree turn, but the glider stalled, and the right wing struck the ground. The pilot said there was no mechanical malfunction with the glider, and during the approach, he had mistakenly pushed the dive brake lever full forward in an attempt to fully open the dive brakes. The airspeed had increased and he was half-way down the runway when he realized that he could not make a safe landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Let L-23 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Apr 1998 | Let L-23 SUPER BLANIK | Pipersville, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 15 Jul 1999 | Let L-23 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Jul 2000 | Let L-23 SUPER BLANKIT | Waller, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 5 May 2001 | Let L-23 | Arlington, Washington, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Sep 1995 | Let L-23 SUPER BLANIK | White Bear Lake, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Apr 1995 | Let L-23 SUPER BLANIK | Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States | Harald W. Behrend | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Nov 1998 | Piper PA-28-161 | Melfa, Virginia, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 29 Aug 1998 | Beechcraft T-34B | Quantico, Virginia, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 1 Aug 1998 | Cessna 152 | Culpeper, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 14 Feb 1998 | Goins SONERAI II LTS | Suffolk, Virginia, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 8 Dec 1998 | Beechcraft 36 | Mathews, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 6 Dec 1998 | Univair 7GC-AA | Garner, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |