NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DEN99LA117
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning. Factors were the loss of thermal lift, the subsequent stall/spin, and the fence post that he impacted.
Factual narrative
On July 11, 1999, approximately 1730 mountain daylight time, a Schempp-Hirth Ventus B/16.6 glider, was substantially damaged during an off airport landing (i.e., landing-out) near Hobbs Industrial Park Airport, Hobbs, New Mexico. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant on board, received minor injuries. The aircraft was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight which originated approximately 4.5 hours before the accident. No flight plan had been filed. According to race officials, the pilot was returning to Hobbs, and was approximately 14 nautical miles from the airport. The pilot said that the lift conditions were deteriorating, and he needed to land-out. He said that he selected a road, but as he approached his landing point, he became aware of transmission wires. He subsequently maneuvered his glider away from the wires, but "stalled his aircraft." The pilot said that he caught a wing tip, and the glider rotated into a fence. The glider was broken in half, and the nose and vertical stabilizer were damaged. According to glider race officials, the pilot was returning to the airport, and was approximately 14 nautical miles out. The pilot said that the lift conditions were deteriorating, and he needed to land-out. He said that he selected a road to land on, but as he approached his landing point, he became aware of transmission wires. He subsequently maneuvered his glider away from the wires, but stalled his aircraft. The pilot said that he caught a wing tip, and the glider rotated into a fence. The glider was broken in half, and the nose and vertical stabilizer were damaged. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1999_DEN99LA117.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
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