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WPR23LA182

2023-04-02 · Marana, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AZ67

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard bounced landing in a dust devil.

Factual narrative

**This report was modified on November 15, 2023. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.** The pilot of the glider reported that, during the landing flare, a dust devil pushed the glider to the ground, causing a hard landing. The glider bounced and then stalled, making another hard impact on the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage cage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Dust devil/whirlwind-Response/compensation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA182.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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