NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX06LA151
Registry · N13SG
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
SCHEMPP-HIRTH DISCUS B
Year of manufacture
1985 · 21 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19960726
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A07A6F
Registrant of record
BAY AREA SOARING ASSOCIATES INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor was the loss of thermal lift.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On April 29, 2006, about 1215 Pacific daylight time, a non-powered Schempp-Hirth Discus B glider, N13SG, impacted a ridgeline after encountering a loss of thermal lift near Minden, Nevada. Soar Minden, Inc., was operating the glider under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries; the glider sustained substantial damage. The local personal flight departed Minden-Tahoe Airport, Minden, about 1145. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot reported that he was operating near the Minden and Smith valleys. He maneuvered towards a ridge in an attempt to position the glider in a thermal, which he believed to be in the area. The glider did not ascend as expected and there appeared to be no thermal activity. The pilot attempted an emergency landing in a clearing he spotted on a side of the ridge. The left wing impacted a bush and the glider collided with terrain. A sheriff's deputy interviewed the pilot at the hospital 2 days after the accident. The pilot stated that he was attempting to gain lift in the area of the accident site. The glider's airspeed began to diminish and the glider subsequently stalled. He tried to regain control of the glider but did not have enough altitude or airspeed to recover; the glider collided with pine trees. The pilot stated that the accident was a result of pilot error. As a result of the impact, the pilot broke both of his ankles. He called for help on his cell phone shortly after the accident occurred. The pilot reported that he had crashed the rental glider 8 to 12 miles east of the airport. Rescue personnel located the wreckage about 2 hours later. Douglas County Sheriff's personnel completed the on-scene wreckage documentation the day of the accident. A written excerpt and photo documentation are attached to this report in the public docket. The wreckage was located at 39 degrees 03.87 minutes north latitude and 119 degrees 31.71 minutes west longitude. It was situated on the northeast side of Mineral Peak in Mineral Valley at an elevation of 6,762 feet mean sea level (msl), about 7 nautical miles southwest from the departure airport.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The glider was not equipped with an emergency locator transmitter (ELT). 14 CFR 91.207 requires that no person may operate a U.S. registered civil airplane unless it is equipped with a personal type or an automatic type ELT that is in operable condition and meets applicable requirements of TSO-C91. Gliders are excluded from this regulation and are not required to have an ELT installed on the glider. The glider impacted a ridge after encountering a loss of thermal lift. The pilot maneuvered toward a ridge in an attempt to position the glider in a thermal, which he believed was in the area. The glider did not ascend as expected and there appeared to be no thermal activity. The glider's airspeed began to diminish and the glider subsequently stalled. The pilot tried to regain control of the glider but did not have enough altitude or airspeed to recover and the glider collided with pine trees. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2006_LAX06LA151.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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