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LAX86LA187

1986-04-23 · HEMET, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HMT

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

A GLIDER STRUCK WIRES WHILE ON FINAL APCH TO A FIELD. THE PLT INDICATED THAT HE WAS TOWED TO AN ALT OF 5,000 FT MSL (APRX 3,500 FT AGL). ON RELEASE, HE ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT OF MORE THAN 500 FT PER MINUTE AND WAS ONLY ABLE TO STAY AIRBORNE 6 TO 7 MINUTES. THE PLT THEN TURNED THE GLIDER TOWARD THE ARPT. WHEN IT BECAME APPARENT HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REACH IT, HE SELECTED A FIELD FOR A FORCED LANDING AREA. ON FINAL APCH HE SAW WIRES AND ATTEMPTED TO FLY UNDER THEM THE ACFT VERTICAL STABILIZER STRUCK THE WIRES DAMAGING IT AND THE RUDDER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_LAX86LA187.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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