NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA03CA074
Registry · N828JN
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
SCHEMPP-HIRTH DISCUS-2B
Year of manufacture
2001 · 2 years old at event
Engine
NONE NONE
Seats / Engines
1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20020204
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB4F68
Registrant of record
HUTNICK MICHAEL C JR
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
An in-flight encounter with wind gusts while making an approach to land in a field resulting in the aircraft landing early and colliding with a berm.
Factual narrative
On March 10, 2003, about 1430 eastern standard time, a Schempp-Hirth Discus-2B glider, N828JN, registered and operated by an individual, crashed while on approach to landing at the Seminole Lakes gliderport, Clermont, Florida. No flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of accident. The glider was substantially damaged. The glider pilot reported no injuries. The flight had departed from the same gliderport at approximately 1245. The pilot stated he departed Seminole Lake gliderport with the intention to complete a contest and return to the gliderport. The contest was cancelled due to impending bad weather consisting of gusting winds, wind shear, and possible thunderstorms. He was downwind of the airport, and realized he could not make it back so he elected to make an off-field landing. After turning onto final approach he said "the glider was hit by a gust of wind and forced into the ground." The glider hit a mound of dirt on the edge of ground water causing the glider to ground-loop. The pilot stated he was downwind of the airport, and realized he could not make it back so he elected to make an off-field landing. After turning onto final approach he said "the glider was hit by a gust of wind and forced into the ground." The glider hit a mound of dirt on the edge of ground water causing the glider to ground-loop. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2003_MIA03CA074.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 (wind shear, thunderstorm). 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 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Evolution of downdrafts and rotation in an Illinois thunderstorm
Multiple-Doppler radar observations of a non-severe Illinois thunderstorm with nearly rectilinear vertical wind shear and storm motion related to the wind at a height of 2.5 km are discussed.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
The Impact of Thunderstorms on Take-off Data in South Africa
Aviation and meteorology are entwined disciplines, as aviation occurs in the atmosphere. Prevailing weather conditions at take-off are of utmost importance to aviation.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Optimal recovery from microburst wind shear
The flight path of a twin-jet transport aircraft is optimized in a microburst encounter during approach to landing. The objective is to execute an escape maneuver that maintains safe ground clearance …
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Thunderstorm hazards flight research: Storm hazards 1980 overview
A highly instrumented NASA F-106B aircraft, modified for the storm hazards mission and protected against direct lightning strikes, was used in conjunction with various ground based radar and lightning…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Proceedings
Operational evaluation of thunderstorm penetration test flights during project Storm Hazards '80
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is conducting a research project called Storm Hazards '80 in order to study the prediction, detectability and avoidance of the hazards of severe storm…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗