Event WPR13CA218

2013-04-12 Middletown, California, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N503CW

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

SCHLEICHER ASW-27

Seats / Engines

1 seats · 1 engine

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A6455C

Registrant of record

GILLIS MATTHEW J

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N503CW Schleicher ASW-27 None

Probable cause & findings

The glider’s encounter with atmospheric lift conditions not sufficient to maintain flight, which resulted in a forced landing on rough terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during his return to the airport, the glider encountered heavy downdrafts. Unable to reach the airport, he elected to execute an off airport landing to a field. During the landing on rough terrain, the glider ground looped, which resulted in substantial damage to the tailboom and wings. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that during his return to the airport, the glider encountered heavy downdrafts. Unable to reach the airport, he executed an off-airport landing to a field. During the landing on rough terrain, the glider ground looped, which resulted in substantial damage to the tail and wings. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Downdraft-Effect on equipment - C
C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Weather planning-Pilot
— Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Not specified

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_WPR13CA218.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Beyond the agency record

Search this event elsewhere.

Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.

TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press

Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.

NTSB CAROL Agency ↗

Official agency record + docket.

NTSB Docket Agency ↗

Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.

Aviation Safety Network Aviation press ↗

Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).

Kathryn's Report Aviation press ↗

Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.

Aviation Herald Aviation press ↗

Gold-standard aviation incident blog.