NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR22LA364
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s encounter with atmospheric conditions where the lift was not sufficient to maintain flight.
Factual narrative
The pilot in the glider reported that, during the return flight to the airport, he encountered a higher sink rate than expected and did not have sufficient altitude to reach the airport. During an emergency landing in a fruit orchard, the glider landing gear contacted utility pole wires, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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).
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Temp/humidity/pressure-Thermal lifting-Effect on operation
- — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Attain/maintain not possible
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Effect on operation
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2022_WPR22LA364.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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