NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA18CA392
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The glider pilot’s selection of an unsuitable landing area, which resulted in a collision with a ditch during the landing roll.
Factual narrative
According to the glider pilot, during a glider competition he passed a "weak frontal system" and lift could not be sustained. He determined that he had about 15 minutes of flight before the glider was going to land. He selected a large field and established a traffic pattern and accomplished a full stall landing. However, during the landing roll on down sloping terrain about 40 knots, the glider collided with a ditch. The glider sustained substantial damage to the tailboom. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. According to the glider pilot, during a glider competition, he passed a "weak frontal system," and lift could not be sustained. He selected a large field for landing, established a traffic pattern, and accomplished a full-stall landing. However, during the landing roll on down-sloping terrain about 40 knots, the glider collided with a ditch. The glider sustained substantial damage to the tailboom. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider 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).
- C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
- C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven terrain-Effect on operation - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2018_GAA18CA392.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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