As+ AC4 N9276Y

Summary

On 19 July 2005 at about 19:50 local time, a As+ AC4 registered N9276Y was involved in an accident near Sparks, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 July 2005 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Sparks, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Air Sailing (NV23)

Coordinates

39.8706, -119.7039

Aircraft

As+ AC4

Registration

N9276Y

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sparks, NV → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05LA239

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while performing S-turns on final approach, which resulted in a stall and uncontrolled descent into terrain. A contributing factor in the accident was the pilot's impairment due to ingestion of an over-the-counter sedating antihistamine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The glider stalled and impacted level terrain on final approach to landing. The pilot returned to the gliderport about 20 minutes after release from the tow plane. The pilot made no radio transmissions to indicate the reason for the return to the gliderport. Airborne and ground witnesses reported that they saw the accident glider enter the downwind leg at a high altitude. After turning onto the final approach leg, the glider began to make S-turns to lose altitude. Witnesses indicated that on the third S-turn, about 200 feet above the ground, the glider stalled and descended in a near vertical nose down attitude and impacted the ground short of the runway. No evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure was found during post accident examination of the glider. Chlorpheniramine, an over-the-counter sedative antihistamine, was detected on toxicology testing of the pilot's blood at a level several times higher than that expected with the dosage described in the pilot's most recent application for airman medical certificate.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.