Sportine Aviacija LAK17 accident near Lake Port, CA
On August 7, 2020, a Sportine Aviacija LAK17 (glider) was involved in an accident near Lake Port, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 7, 2020
- Place
- Lake Port, CA
- Aircraft
- Sportine Aviacija LAK17 · Glider
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 38.934°N, 122.877°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200807X30140
Official records · WPR20LA257
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 7, 2020, about 1230 Pacific daylight time, a Sportine Aviacija Lak-17B FES Mini motorized glider, N290MH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lakeport, California. The private pilot was fatally injured. The glider was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed from runway 28 at Lampson Field Airport (1O2), Lakeport, California, about 1200 on a local flight. A video was taken from the start end of runway 28 at 1O2, where a family member acted as a wing runner while the glider started its takeoff roll. The glider started on the left side of the runway and became airborne after about 1,000 ft of ground roll. The glider maintained runway heading in a steep climb until reaching an altitude of about 500 ft above ground level before the glider was out of view. The motor could be heard throughout the video. When the pilot did not return from the flight, family members checked information from his personal locator beacon, which indicated his last position. The accident site was located later in the day. There were no witnesses to the accident. Flight track data for the accident flight was downloaded from an onboard flight computer. The data indicated that the pilot departed and performed turning maneuvers within 2 miles of 1O2 for about 20 minutes, and the glider reached a maximum altitude of 2,871 mean sea level (msl), about 1,500 ft above ground level (agl); the altitude then slowly decreased throughout the rest of the flight. The data near the accident site showed the gli
Probable cause
The pilot’s exceedance of the glider’s critical angle of attack during flight, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with terrain.
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Browse: California
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
