Schleicher ASW-19B N439AS

Summary

On 18 March 2006 at about 19:30 local time, a Schleicher ASW-19B registered N439AS was involved in an accident near Blairstown, New Jersey, 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

18 March 2006 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Blairstown, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Blairstown (1N7)

Coordinates

40.9783, -74.9604

Aircraft

Schleicher ASW-19B

Registration

N439AS

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Blairstown → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC06CA083

Nobody was injured.

A loss of lift, which resulted in a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After about 1.5 hours of ridgeline flying, and during the outbound leg from the departure airport, the glider approached a valley. According to the pilot, "the ridge lift in this area dissipated rapidly due to a shift in wind direction." Due to the loss in lift, the pilot circled over a field and set up a downwind, base, and final approach for a landing. While on the "short final" leg of the approach, the pilot noticed an obstacle, elected to climb over it, and to land as quickly as possible on the opposite side. During the rollout, the pilot attempted to maneuver the glider between two trees; however, both wingtips impacted the trees, and the glider was substantially damaged.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.