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LAX91LA165

1991-04-08 · HEMET, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HMT

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE PIC TO SELECT A PROPER TOUCH DOWN POINT. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LACK OF RECENT FAMILIARITY WITH THE GEOGRAPHIC LAYOUT OF THE LANDING AREA.

Factual narrative

THE NON-CERTIFICATED STUDENT PILOT WAS LANDING HIS GLIDER IN A DIRT AND GRASS AREA BETWEEN TWO PARALLEL RUNWAYS. RECENT RAIN HAD PRODUCED A GROWTH OF NEW GRASS IN THE LANDING AREA. THE PILOT HAD NOT LANDED AT THE AIRPORT IN THE LAST 30 DAYS. THE PILOT WAS CONFUSED BY THE PATTERN OF NEW GRASS IN THE LANDING AREA AND TOUCHED DOWN IN AN AREA OF BARE GROUND THAT APPEARED TO BE THE PROPER LANDING ZONE, BUT WAS POSITIONED TOO CLOSE TO PARKED GLIDERS. DURING THE LANDING ROLL OUT, THE RIGHT WING TIP OF HIS GLIDER STRUCK THE LEFT WING OF A PARKED GLIDER AND THEN PIVOTED INTO THE LEFT SIDE OF A SECOND PARKED GLIDER. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. ALL THREE GLIDERS WERE SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_LAX91LA165.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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