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LAX83FA333

1983-07-13 · BISHOP, California, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N56TM has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BEECH 95-55, built 1961), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE GLIDER PLT WAS PARTICIPATING IN A SOARING CONTEST WHICH INVOLVED A QUADRANGLE COURSE. WHILE ENROUTE TO THE 1ST TURN POINT WITH 2 OTHER SAILPLANES, THE PLT WAS OBSERVED TO DEPART FROM THE GENERAL FLT PATH OF THE OTHER 2 GLIDERS & FLY ON THE LEEWARD SIDE OF A RIDGELINE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE GLIDER CRASHED BETWEEN 2 KNOLLS, ABOUT 51 FT WEST & 5 FT BELOW THE RIDGELINE, IN A SLIGHTLY NOSE UP & A NEAR WINGS LEVEL ATTITUDE. NO PREIMPACT/PART MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE WAS FOUND. BETWEEN 1150 & 1250 PDT, THE WIND AT BISHOP, CA SHIFTED FROM 030 TO 340 DEG. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED ABOUT 6 MI NORTHEAST OF BISHOP. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_LAX83FA333.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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