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ERA18TA267

2018-09-22 · Groveland, Florida, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 6FL0

Current FAA registration · N72EJ

Make / Model
BURKHART GROB G103 TWIN ASTIR
Year of manufacture
1979 · 39 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20070622
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A9A1A0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's failure to relinquish the flight controls during landing when the flight instructor told him to do so, and the instructor’s subsequent inability to properly control the glider, which led to a hard landing.

Factual narrative

On September 22, 2018, about 1500 eastern daylight time, a Grob G103 Twin Astir glider, N72EJ, sustained minor damage when it was involved in an accident in Groveland, Florida. The flight instructor was not injured, and the student pilot was seriously injured. The glider was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor reported that, during landing, he told the student pilot, “I have the controls”; however, the student pilot did not relinquish them. The flight instructor added that he was unable to control the glider, which resulted in a hard landing and the student pilot sustaining serious injuries. The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting an instructional flight. The flight instructor reported that, during the landing, he told the student, “I have the flight controls”; however, the student did not relinquish them. As a result, the instructor was unable to control the glider, which resulted in a hard landing and the student pilot sustaining serious injuries. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Student/instructed pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Attain/maintain not possible
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Instructor/check pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Communication (personnel)-Following instructions-Student/instructed pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2018_ERA18TA267.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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