Glasflugel STANDARD LIBELLE accident near Wellington, Colorado, March 20, 2011
On March 20, 2011 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Glasflugel STANDARD LIBELLE (glider), registered N99AE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wellington, Colorado (Owl Canyon Gliderport airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's loss of glider control due to impairment or incapacitation caused by an episode of ventricular tachycardia.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 20, 2011 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Wellington, Colorado · Owl Canyon Gliderport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Glasflugel STANDARD LIBELLE · all STANDARD LIBELLEs on the register
- Registration
- N99AE · no longer on the register · serial 182
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was performing a local glider flight when the accident occurred. A witness saw the glider release from the towplane and saw the glider maneuver in steep bank turns as it descended during those turns. At one point, the glider was observed to enter a rapid "zoom" climb followed by a brief period of inverted flight before descending, wings level, about 60-degrees pitch down, into the ground. The glider was subsequently found in a ravine; the glider’s right wing had impacted an embankment and sustained substantial damage, and its dive brake was found extended. The left wing’s dive brake was found retracted. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot did not have a current medical certificate, but he was not required to have a medical certificate for glider operations. An autopsy indicated that the pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries and that cardiac disease may have been contributory. The pilot had a documented history of cardiac disease and had a pacemaker implant. The pacemaker was last checked about one month prior to the accident and it was operating normally at that time. A readout of the pilot’s pacemaker indicated that about the time of the accident the pilot experienced a ventricular tachycardia. The degree of the pilot’s injuries made it highly unlikely that he experienced the ventricular tachycardia as a result of the injuries, but that he experienced the condition prior to impact. The symptoms the pilot would have experienced as a result of the ventricular tachycardia likely impaired or incapacitated the pilot, and resulted in his loss of control of the glider. The toxicology results support the pilot’s use of prescription pain medications the evening before as indicated by his personal physician. None of these was in the therapeutic range at the time of the crash and were therefore unlikely to have contributed to the etiology of the event.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Low altitude operation/event during unknown defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during unknown
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
- Personnel issues › Physical › Health/Fitness › Use of medication/drugs › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all
- Last flight review: May 9, 2009
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,565 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 13, 2010
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: 4CO2 Wellington CO at 8:06 pm
- Destination: 4CO2 Wellington CO
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 14 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 8:15 pm from FNL, 21 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN11LA239.