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WPR10CA389

2010-08-06 · Adelanto, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 0CL1

N315BA has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (ICON AIRCRAFT INC A5, built 2022), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s inability to make it to the airport as a result of his inadequate planning for the gusting headwinds.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that after a normal release about 2 miles north of the airport at 3,000 feet, he turned the glider south towards the airport. Approximately 1 mile from the airport the glider encountered strong winds from the south and it entered a high rate of descent with minimal forward motion. The pilot determined the glider would not make the airport and he executed an off-airport landing. During landing, the right wing struck a bush and the glider ground looped, substantially damaging its wings and fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe prior to the accident. An airport located about 9 miles to the east of the accident airport indicated at the time of the accident wind was from 180 degrees at 11 knots gusting to 16 knots. The pilot reported that after a normal release about 2 miles north of the airport at 3,000 feet, he turned the glider south towards the airport. Approximately 1 mile from the airport the glider encountered strong winds from the south and it entered a high rate of descent with minimal forward motion. The pilot determined the glider would not make the airport and he executed an off-airport landing. During the landing, the right wing struck a bush and the glider ground-looped, substantially damaging its wings and fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe prior to the accident. An airport located about 9 miles to the east of the accident airport indicated at the time of the accident wind was from 180 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 16 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Contributed to outcome
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Weather planning-Pilot - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-(general)-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2010_WPR10CA389.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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