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Sail plane pilot misjudges thermal activity for the day and flies beyond the point of safe return to the departure airport. An off airport landing ensues.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 824946 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200902 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Sail Plane |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 670 Flight Crew Type 150 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
I departed around XA35 in a glider. My intention was to fly around the area; with an overall objective of using a prominent tower as an intermediate turn point for the glider flight; where I would decide whether to fly further to the northwest and then come back. At around XB20 I reached the tower; however; thermal activity was in deterioration and wind direction and strength were changing as well. I might have not reacted with the urgency I should have; since I was getting lower fast; however; when I realized that situation I headed east; first to try to reacquire altitude on a thermal and; second; to be closer to an area that could be more suitable for an off-airport landing in case altitude was not enough to return to an airport; since the area near the tower is clearly flooded. While flying east; lift conditions deteriorated substantially turning into large areas of sinking air; therefore; rapidly increasing descent rate and leaving me no choice but to find the best possible area for an off field landing. At around XB45 after trying to re-establish a climb on a weak thermal; I decided to line out near a road and land the glider in an area that looked the most suitable; as per off-airport landing procedures. The glider landed and rolled about 170 ft before stopping. The surface of the field was very rough resulting in damage to the landing gear.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Sail plane pilot misjudges thermal activity for the day and flies beyond the point of safe return to the departure airport. An off airport landing ensues.
Narrative: I departed around XA35 in a glider. My intention was to fly around the area; with an overall objective of using a prominent tower as an intermediate turn point for the glider flight; where I would decide whether to fly further to the northwest and then come back. At around XB20 I reached the Tower; however; thermal activity was in deterioration and wind direction and strength were changing as well. I might have not reacted with the urgency I should have; since I was getting lower fast; however; when I realized that situation I headed east; first to try to reacquire altitude on a thermal and; second; to be closer to an area that could be more suitable for an off-airport landing in case altitude was not enough to return to an airport; since the area near the Tower is clearly flooded. While flying east; lift conditions deteriorated substantially turning into large areas of sinking air; therefore; rapidly increasing descent rate and leaving me no choice but to find the best possible area for an off field landing. At around XB45 after trying to re-establish a climb on a weak thermal; I decided to line out near a road and land the glider in an area that looked the most suitable; as per off-airport landing procedures. The glider landed and rolled about 170 FT before stopping. The surface of the field was very rough resulting in damage to the landing gear.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.