N427BG

On May 23, 1998, at 1518 central daylight time, a Grob 103 glider, N427BG, was substantially damaged when it undershot the runway while landing near Briggs, Texas. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The glider was owned and operated by Fault Line Flyers, Inc., of Round Rock, Texas, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area for the local flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated from the Fault Line Flyers Gliderport (TX23) near Briggs, Texas, approximately 10 minutes prior to the accident.

According to the pilot, he released the glider from the tow plane prematurely at 1,500 feet MSL due to conflicting traffic. After "thermalling with another glider for a while, he could not find much lift," so he headed back to the airport to land. The pilot added that he was too low when he entered the downwind leg for runway 16; however, he estimated that he would be able to reach the approach end of the runway. In a written statement submitted by the pilot, he stated that he became distracted by a yellow glider that he thought was blocking the runway.

The pilot reported that while maneuvering to land at the threshold for the 4,500 foot turf runway, he turned the aircraft on to the base leg prematurely; consequently, the left wing impacted the ground nearly perpendicular to the runway near the threshold. Subsequently, the glider impacted the ground in a nose low attitude, bounced back in the air and impacted the ground in a tail low attitude, separating the tail section from the airframe.

Examination of the aircraft by the FAA inspector confirmed that the left wing and the tail section of the 1982 model glider sustained structural damage.