NEW CASTLE, VA, USA
N55BR
Let L-23
According to the student pilot, he had flown the glider for about an hour uneventfully. During the landing, he overshot runway 36 and tried to make a 180 degree turn, but the glider stalled, and the right wing struck the ground. The pilot said there was no mechanical malfunction with the glider, and during the approach, he had mistakenly pushed the dive brake lever full forward in an attempt to fully open the dive brakes. The airspeed had increased and he was half-way down the runway when he realized that he could not make a safe landing.
On April 12, 1998, at 1800 eastern daylight time, N55BR, a Let L-23 glider, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during landing at the New Castle Airport, New Castle, Virginia. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The local, personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot he had flown for about an hour uneventfully. During the landing, he overshot runway 36, and he tried to make a 180 degree turn, but the glider stalled, and the right wing struck the ground. The pilot had over 38 hours of total flight experience, including 23 hours in make and model. He said that there was no mechanical malfunction with the glider, and he mistakenly pushed the dive brake lever full forward in an attempt to fully open the dive brakes. The airspeed had increased, and he was half-way down the runway when he realized that he could not make a safe landing.
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the turn to reverse direction. A factor was his improper use of the speed brake.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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