NTSB Factual Report

On July 21, 2001, at 1325 central daylight time, a Schleicher ASW-20C glider, N9HK, registered to a private owner, collided with a static wire and subsequently the ground during a forced landing in a field in Etowah, Tennessee. The personal flight was operated by the commercial pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot was not injured, and the glider sustained substantial damage. The glider departed Chilhowee Glider Port in Benton, Tennessee, at 1230.

After departing on tow, the pilot flew around the area for about an hour. While returning to the glider port at 2,350 feet MSL, the pilot encountered a light but steady sink. After five minutes of searching for usable lift, the sink continued, and the pilot maneuvered the glider at minimum sink speed and searched for a field for landing. During descent over a house and power lines, the glider sank into the power lines. The glider's right wing struck a wire, and the glider subsequently nosed into the ground.

Examination of the wreckage revealed damage to the nose, and the tail was separated. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the glider.

NTSB Probable Cause

The loss of thermal lift which resulted in a forced landing and subsequent in-flight collision with static wires.