NTSB Factual Report

On May 19, 2018, at an unknown time, an ICA-Brasov IS-29D Lark glider, N38ES, was destroyed after an in-flight separation and impact with mountainous terrain during a flight near Avenal, California. The pilot, who was one of two co-owners, was fatally injured. The glider was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from the Avenal airport (CA69), Avenal, California and was released from the tow plane about 1227 Pacific daylight time.

The Romanian-manufactured 1974 glider was designed with removable wings and horizontal stabilizer to enable it to be stored and transported in a custom enclosed trailer. According to the other co-owner, he and the accident pilot had purchased the dis-assembled glider several months ago from the previous owner in Kansas. The co-owner reported that the glider had last been flown about 7 years prior. The glider was trailered to Merced, California, where the co-owner and pilot, who also held an aircraft mechanic certificate with airframe, powerplant, and inspection authorization ratings, examined the glider in detail. It remained unassembled, and was then trailered to Fresno, California, where it was inspected again by the two co-owners. A few weeks prior to the accident, it was trailered to Avenal Airport (designated CA69, and generally referred to as "Avenal Gliderport"), Avenal, California, where the two co-owners and another individual assembled it. The co-owners were members of the Central California Soaring Club (CCSC), which was based at CA69.

On the day of the accident, as its first flight under the new co-owners, the glider was towed aloft from CA69, and released for flight about 1227. About 1 hour later, the pilot radioed to his CCSC colleagues that all was well and that he planned to continue flying. That was the last communication from the pilot. About 1830, two CCSC pilots departed CA69 in a towplane to locate the pilot or glider. They visually spotted two separate sections of wreckage about an hour later, in the mountains about 5 miles southwest of CA69.

Examination of the accident site by Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB personnel revealed that both wings had separated from the fuselage; the right wing was fracture-separated into two sections, and the left wing was essentially intact. The empennage was fracture-separated from the fuselage, and the T-configuration horizontal stabilizer was fracture-separated from the vertical stabilizer. The evidence was consistent with the fact that the pilot, who was wearing a parachute, had attempted to exit the glider. The wreckage will be recovered to a secure facility for detailed examination.

According to family and CCSC colleagues, the pilot was a competent and thorough mechanic, and a highly experienced glider pilot. The pilot used a "FlywithCE" GPS position datalogger, which was recovered at the accident site. The device will be sent to the NTSB recorders laboratory in Washington, DC for possible data extraction.