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FTW04LA155

2004-05-29 · Cherry Valley, Arkansas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 4AR5

N678P has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (FLIGHT DESIGN GMBH CTLS, built 2013), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper flare which resulted in a stall and hard landing.

Factual narrative

On May 29, 2004, approximately 1400 central daylight time, a Schreder HP-11A experimental homebuilt glider, sustained substantial damage following a hard landing at Lawrence Field Gliderport (4AR5), near Cherry Valley, Arkansas. The private pilot, sole occupant of the glider, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight departed at 1355. The 200-hour glider pilot reported that he configured the airplane for landing with full flaps (90 degrees). While landing, the pilot stated that he flared "too high" and stalled the airplane. The airplane touched down on Runway 25, a grass strip runway, which was 3,900 feet long by 300 feet wide. Examination of the wreckage by the pilot revealed structural damage to the airframe and landing gear attachment points, a cracked canopy, and structural damage to the left wing. The automated surface observing station at Jonesboro Municipal Airport (JBR), located 28 nautical miles north of the accident site, at 1353 reported winds from 170 degrees at 10 knots, clouds scattered at 3,400 feet, temperature 28 degrees Celsius, dew point 22 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.81 inches of Mercury. The 200-hour glider pilot reported that he configured the homebuilt glider for landing with full flaps (90 degrees). While landing on Runway 25, the pilot stated that he flared "too high" and stalled the airplane. The airplane touched down hard on the grass runway. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were winds from 170 degrees at 10 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2004_FTW04LA155.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers