Let Blanik L-13 accident near Hampshire, Illinois, September 2, 2006
On September 2, 2006 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Let Blanik L-13 (glider), registered N12YA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hampshire, Illinois (Sky Soaring Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate approach for landing and his failure to attain a proper descent rate.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2006 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Hampshire, Illinois · Sky Soaring Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Let Blanik L-13 · all Blanik L-13s on the register
- Registration
- N12YA · registry record · serial 025321
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The glider sustained substantial damage when it ground looped and skidded to a stop while landing at a grass airstrip. The pilot reported that after releasing from the tow airplane at 3,000 feet above ground level (agl), no thermal lift was encountered so he returned to the airstrip for landing. He reported that he experienced a sink rate that "seemed very excessive" during the downwind leg. He "cut the pattern short" and turned onto the base leg, which resulted in the glider being high on the base leg. The pilot reported that he deployed the spoilers, but he was slow to retract the spoilers due to the "heavy force required to push the handle forward." The glider lost altitude. The pilot reported that the left wing caught the grass about the same time the glider touched down with the nose about 20 degrees off the runway heading.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: gyroplane; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: gyroplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,342 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine:; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 55LL Hampshire IL at 8:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 CHI06CA252.