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CEN22LA279

2022-06-22 · Yoder, Kansas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SN76

Current FAA registration · N364BA

Make / Model
LET L-23 SUPER BLANIK
Year of manufacture
2000 · 22 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20000510
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A41B42

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's encounter with sinking air conditions that resulted in a loss of lift and a subsequent loss of control.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that after demonstrating maneuvers he noticed that the glider had quickly descended to pattern altitude, so he proceeded into the traffic pattern. He slowed the glider to minimum sink airspeed and then turned onto the base leg about 200 to 250 ft above ground level. During the base leg turn, the glider continued to turn and descend, and the flight instructor was unable to maintain control. The glider impacted terrain short of the runway and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor reported that there was sinking air in the flight area. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_CEN22LA279.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). All research papers