Summary
On July 03, 1992, a Burkhart Grob G103 (N173SS) was involved in an incident near Olancha, CA. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: 1) THE TOW PILOT'S INTENTIONAL PREMATURE RELEASE OF THE GLIDER, WHICH HAD BECOME AIRBORNE, WHEN THE TOW PLANE FAILED TO ACHIEVE SUFFICIENT AIRSPEED DURING ITS TAKEOFF GROUND ROLL, AND, 2) THE GLIDER HAVING INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE AT THE TIME OF RELEASE TO NEGOTIATE A SUCCESSFUL RETURN TO RUNWAY MANEUVER. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE SOFT NATURE OF THE DIRT RUNWAY.
This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX92LA275. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N173SS.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
1) THE TOW PILOT'S INTENTIONAL PREMATURE RELEASE OF THE GLIDER, WHICH HAD BECOME AIRBORNE, WHEN THE TOW PLANE FAILED TO ACHIEVE SUFFICIENT AIRSPEED DURING ITS TAKEOFF GROUND ROLL, AND, 2) THE GLIDER HAVING INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE AT THE TIME OF RELEASE TO NEGOTIATE A SUCCESSFUL RETURN TO RUNWAY MANEUVER. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE SOFT NATURE OF THE DIRT RUNWAY.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX92LA275