MidAir Destroyed One Bird, Injured Pilot, While Other Landed
Safely
The NTSB has updated the details on the recent TX glider midair
that destroyed one aircraft and injured its pilot, while the other
managed to fly back to the field.
NTSB Identification: DEN08LA137A
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, August 09, 2008 in Bracketville,
TX
Aircraft: Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2A (illustrated below),
registration: N777UN/AB Sportine Aviacija Genesis 2, registration:
N110RG
Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On August 9, 2008, at 1532 central daylight time, a
Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2A glider, N777UN, collided with an AB
Sportine Aviacija Genesis 2 glider, N110RG, during a gliding
competition 4 miles north of Bracketville, Texas. Visual
meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
The local flights were being conducted under the provisions of
Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without flight plans.
The pilot of N777UN was uninjured, while the pilot of N110RG
sustained serious injuries. Both flights departed Garner Field
Airport (UVA), Uvalde, Texas, approximately 1200.
According to a telephone conversation with the pilot of N110RG,
he was following behind another glider at an altitude of 5,000
feet, heading for the first turn point in the competition. The
glider in front of him entered a thermal and the pilot of N110RG
established visual contact with the other pilot before entering the
thermal behind him. He stabilized a right 55 degree bank and had
completed three turns when he heard a loud bang and immediately
"went out of control." The right wing dropped and the glider "went
inverted." The pilot of N110RG exited the glider and deployed his
parachute. During the egress, the pilot was struck in the neck by
some portion of the glider. The parachute deployed without issue;
however, the landing was hard, resulting in serious injuries.
According to a telephone conversation with the pilot of N777UN,
he had observed the two gliders in the thermal in front of him and
entered the thermal underneath them. After two turns in the
thermal, he lost sight of the two gliders and collided, shortly
thereafter, with N110RG. His left wing and winglet impacted the
right wing of the other glider. The pilot of N777UN landed
uneventfully at UVA.