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ERA14CA215

2014-04-27 · Benton, Tennessee, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 92A

Current FAA registration · N1002Z

Make / Model
SCHLEICHER ALEXANDER K 7
Year of manufacture
1961 · 53 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19610529
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A0076A

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's distraction with traffic on the runway, and his subsequent failure to retract the air brakes prior to touchdown, which resulted in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

In a statement to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot of the glider stated that he was on final approach for landing with the air brakes deployed when he observed another glider on the runway. He raised the nose of his glider to clear the other glider, but did not retract the air brakes, which resulted in a hard landing. The pilot sustained serious injuries. Postaccident examination by an FAA inspector revealed minor damage to the glider's tail skid, and no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. In a statement to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot of the glider stated that he was on final approach for landing with the air brakes deployed when he observed another glider on the runway. He raised the nose of his glider to clear the other glider, but did not retract the air brakes, which resulted in a hard landing. The pilot sustained serious injuries. Postaccident examination by an FAA inspector revealed minor damage to the glider's tail skid, and no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Forgotten action/omission-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Configuration-Incorrect use/operation - C
  • C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_ERA14CA215.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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