N990 – FISHER HP-14 SAILPLANE – 2012-04-06 NTSB Accident Report

On April 06, 2012, a Fisher HP-14 SAILPLANE (N990) was involved in an incident near Nampa, ID. 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: The pilot’s incorrect positioning of the wing flaps during the landing approach, which resulted in a loss of lift and hard landing.

The pilot reported that after soaring for nearly 3 hours, he returned to the departure airport and made a traffic pattern approach for landing. On final approach, he lowered the wing flaps to 40 degrees. The pilot additionally reported that, because it appeared he was going to be too high, he further extended the wing flaps. Suddenly, the glider’s sink rate increased, and the glider touched down hard short of the runway. The glider bounced, yawed sideways, the landing gear collapsed, and the fuselage buckled as the glider slid to a stop. The pilot stated that he subsequently observed that the flaps were set to 90 degrees, which was 30 degrees farther down than he had intended.

This incident is documented in NTSB report WPR12CA157. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N990.