NTSB Factual Report

On June 21, 2003, at 1530 eastern daylight time, a Schleicher ASW-28 glider, registered to and operated by Echo Delta LTD, collided with trees and came to rest in the backyard of a single-family home in Batesburg, South Carolina. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot received serious injuries and the glider sustained substantial damage. The flight departed a private airstrip in Perry, South Carolina, at 1330, on June 21, 2003.

The purpose of the flight was a glider race contest. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions prior to the flight. The pilot stated that the thermal conditions became weak, the glider began to lose altitude, and landing became imminent. According to the pilot, the first two selected landing sites proved to be unsuitable by other glider pilots, so he headed to a "clear green area beyond a stand of trees." According to the pilot, he thought that he had enough altitude to clear the trees. The glider collided with trees before coming to rest on the ground in a nose low attitude.

Examination of the wreckage revealed the right wing was cracked at the root and the left wing separated from the fuselage at the root. The fuselage was crushed from the nose section aft to the pilot's station and the canopy was shattered. The empennage was separated from the tail section forward of the tail assembly. According to the pilot, all contest participants received a weather briefing during the initial race briefing.

NTSB Probable Cause

The loss of thermal lifting action that resulted in the in-flight collision with trees during an attempted forced landing.