Skip to content

LAX84LA135

1983-12-18 · MOKULEIA, Hawaii, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HDH

N17SH has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (AMERICAN AUTOGYRO INC SPARROWHAWK, built 2004), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PLT WAS RATED FOR AIRPLANES & HELICOPTERS, BUT DID NOT HAVE A GLIDER RATING. HE HAD ONLY 2.5 HRS IN GLIDERS, ALL OF WHICH WAS IN THIS SAME MAKE & MODEL. DURING A SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLT, HE ENCOUNTERED A HIGH SINK WHILE ON A BASE TURN TO LAND. HE STATED THAT AFTER EXPERIENCING THE SINK RATE, HE HAD INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE TO REACH THE RWY. THE PLT REPORTED THAT JUST PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN, HE ENCOUNTER A GUST OF WIND, THE LEFT WING CONTACTED THE GROUND & THE ACFT GROUND LOOPED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_LAX84LA135.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.