NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA24LA291
Registry · N152SS
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BURKHART GROB FLUGZEUGBAU G102 ASTIR CS
Year of manufacture
1977 · 47 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19771013
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A0D33E
Registrant of record
SWAYZE HENRY S
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
An encounter with atmospheric conditions where the lift was not sufficient to maintain flight, resulting in collision with trees.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the glider took off under aerotow for a flight in the local soaring area. During the return trip to the airport, the pilot reported that the “good lift” in the area had weakened. The pilot then reported that while looking for an area of lift, he performed a turn over a ridge, which resulted in a loss of altitude. During one the pilot’s turns to find lift, one of the wingtips impacted a tree, and the glider subsequently impacted the forest canopy. After impacting trees, the glider came to rest about 30 ft above ground level. The pilot was rescued from the tree canopy five hours after the accident and was uninjured. The tree impacts resulted in the glider sustaining substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Temp/humidity/pressure-Thermal lifting-Effect on operation
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2024_ERA24LA291.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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