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Atlas / NTSB / WPR24LA274

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR24LA274

2024-08-09 Minden, Nevada, United States Airport · MEV None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N125CC

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

BURKHART GROB FLUGZEUGBAU G103 TWIN ASTIR

Year of manufacture

1982 · 42 years old at event

Engine

NONE NONE

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19830714

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A0667A

Registrant of record

SILVERADO SOARING INC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The glider’s encounter with atmospheric conditions where the lift was not sufficient to maintain flight and a subsequent collision with an obstacle during an off-field landing.

Factual narrative

The glider was launched by aerotow and released about 5 miles from the departure airport. After climbing to about 10,400 ft msl, the pilot flew the glider towards an adjacent peak, however while enroute the glider encountered sink and descended. Rather than fly back towards the sinking air, the pilot began to track towards another peak in anticipation of finding lifting air, in an area where he had been successful in the past. However, the glider continued to descend so he turned back towards the departure airport. The headwinds were significant, and by the time the glider had sunk to 1,000 ft above ground level, the airport was no longer in site, so he elected to perform an off-field landing on a dirt road. During the landing roll the left wing struck a raised rock, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies 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-Physical environment-Terrain-Rough terrain-Effect on equipment
  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Temp/humidity/pressure-Thermal lifting-Effect on operation
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Attain/maintain not possible

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_WPR24LA274.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.