| Crash location | 30.218611°N, 81.876667°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Jacksonville, FL
30.332184°N, 81.655651°W 15.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N36204 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 28 May 2010 |
| Aircraft type | Schweizer Sgs 1-36 |
| Additional details: | None |
The pilot stated that his glider was towed to 3,000 feet above ground level (AGL) for a local soaring flight. He climbed the glider to 6,000 feet in a training area about 13 miles from the departure airport, where he "encountered sink." The pilot then obtained a landing clearance at an airport about 8 miles from his position, but the glider continued to sink, and struck an airport perimeter fence short of the landing runway. The off-airport landing resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage structures. According to the glider's Pilot Operating Manual, the maximum glide ratio at maximum gross weight was 31:1. The pilot reported there were no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the glider.
The glider pilot’s delayed decision to divert following a loss of thermal lift.