Marsh-Turner BG-12A accident near Marion, OH
On May 4, 1997, a Marsh-Turner BG-12A (glider) was involved in an accident near Marion, OH. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 4, 1997
- Place
- Marion, OH
- Aircraft
- Marsh-Turner BG-12A · Glider
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.581°N, 83.120°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07996
NTSB summary
On May 4, 1997, about 1240 eastern daylight time, an experimental, homebuilt glider, a Marsh-Turner, BG-12A, struck terrain after departure from the Marion Municipal Airport, Marion, Ohio. The glider was destroyed, and the certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, for the ferry flight which departed Marion Airport about 1 minute prior. No flight plan had been filed for the flight which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.. The glider was under tow and destined for the museum at Port Columbus Airport, Columbus, Ohio. The tow plane pilot stated: "...At approximately 1,000 foot above ground he [the glider pilot] indicated that he wished to slow back a little due to turbulence. I complied. A minute or so later Mark [the glider pilot] got way out of normal tow position and this continued until he went off tow. I radioed Marion [departure airport] that something must be wrong and we were headed back to the airport. When I spotted the glider it was descending at a high rate of speed with some oscillations in the pitch axis. Then it nosed over and went in, impacting the ground nearly vertical." A witness stated: "...As the planes continued to climb N/E of field, I noticed Mark's position began to vary., Mark began vertical position changes. BG-12 [glider] appeared to not be able to hold proper tow position. I looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back the BG-12 was extremely high and right of tow plane. BG-12 released, turned northerly, began a return to the airport, nose went down, wing level, descend at approx. 80 degr
Probable cause
Disconnection of the elevator control rod which resulted in the loss of elevator control. A factor was failure to complete the required maintenance inspection.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
