Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK N400AZ
14 July 2014 · Warm Springs, Georgia, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 14 July 2014 at about 18:35 local time, a Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK registered N400AZ, operated by Civil Air Patrol Inc, was involved in an accident near Warm Springs, Georgia, United States. 4 people were 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 18:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Warm Springs, Georgia, United States
- Nearest airport
- Roosevelt Memorial (5A9)
- Coordinates
- 32.9386, -84.6964
- Aircraft
- Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK
- Registration
- N400AZ
- Category
- Glider
- Year built
- 1999
- Operator
- Civil Air Patrol Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Warm Springs → Warm Springs
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA14LA341
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Probable cause
The failure of the flight instructor to move his glider from an active runway in accordance with procedures due to his distraction by having a conversation with the air boss, which resulted in the landing glider colliding with the glider on the runway.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
A landing glider collided with another glider on the active runway. The flight instructor of the glider on the runway stated that he and the student pilot landed the glider and that it came to rest about 1,000 ft from the runway threshold. The instructor was having a conversation with the air boss while the glider was still on the runway when it was struck from behind by the landing glider. The air boss indicated that, during this conversation, he watched the second glider turn from the base to the final leg in the traffic pattern and then land. The flight instructor of the second glider stated that he and the student pilot landed just beyond the displaced threshold markers at the approach end of the runway and that both he and the student applied "maximum braking" but were unable to stop the glider before impacting the glider on the runway. According to both flight instructors, they had performed numerous landings that day in their respective gliders as part of the training requirements for the students. Both glider instructors reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with either glider that would have precluded normal operation. The Civil Air Patrol procedures stated that, after landing and coming to rest, each glider was to be removed from the runway and that at no time was a glider to be on the runway while another glider was landing. Federal Aviation Administration regulations and guidance indicated that the landing glider has the right-of-way over all aircraft on the surface and that, after landing, the pilot "should move or taxi the glider clear of all runways." Given that the air boss watched the landing glider turn from base to final leg in the traffic pattern while talking to the instructor in the glider on the runway, it is likely that the instructor would have had sufficient time to move the glider off the runway before the other glider landed, which would have prevented the accident. It is also likely that the instructor of the first glider was distracted by talking to the air boss and that neither he nor the air boss realized that the second glider was a concern until it was too late. The pilot of the glider on the runway should have moved the glider off the runway as soon as possible to allow the landing glider sufficient space to land without the possibility of a collision.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK | N400AZ | Civil Air Patrol Inc | Substantial |
| Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK | N342BA | Civil Air Patrol | Substantial |
Other Let L-23 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Aug 2014 | Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK | Sylacauga, Alabama, United States | Central Alabama Soaring Association | Serious injuries | - |
| 15 Sep 2013 | Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK | Clermont, Florida, United States | Seminole Flying & Soaring Inc | No injuries | - |
| 28 Jun 2012 | Let L-23 SUPER BLANIK | Benton, Tennessee, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 30 Jul 2017 | Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK | Homestead, Florida, United States | N304MG LLC. | No injuries | - |
| 30 Sep 2017 | Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK | Hampshire, Illinois, United States | Sky Soaring Inc | No injuries | - |
| 23 Dec 2017 | Let L 23 SUPER BLANIK | Clermont, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Jul 2014 | Jannakos Gregory P ZODIAC 601 HDS | Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jul 2014 | Piper PA-46-310P | Clayton, Georgia, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 31 Jan 2014 | McDonnell Douglas MD 88 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | Delta Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jul 2014 | Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR | Newnan, Georgia, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 27 Jul 2014 | Cessna 182B | Clayton, Georgia, United States | Allen C Kevin | No injuries | - |
| 14 Sep 2014 | Bellanca 17-30A | Monroe, Georgia, United States | Bailey Jason L | Serious injuries | - |