Let L-13 accident near Edgewood, New Mexico, May 26, 1984
On May 26, 1984 at about 6:10 pm local time, a Let L-13 (glider), registered N48032, was destroyed in an accident near Edgewood, New Mexico (New Mexico Soaring Ranch airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 26, 1984 · about 6:10 pm local time
- Place
- Edgewood, New Mexico · New Mexico Soaring Ranch · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Let L-13 · all L-13s on the register
- Registration
- N48032 · no longer on the register · serial 026035
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE ACFT APPEARED TO BE TOO HIGH, TOO FAST, AND IN A CRAB AS IT APPROACHED THE RWY. OVER THE RWY THE GLIDER WAS OBSERVED TO ROLL INTO A RIGHT TURN AS THE NOSE CAME UP. SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE RIGHT WING STRUCK 3 PARKED ACFT AND COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN. DURING AN INTERVIEW ON THE EVENING OF THE ACCIDENT THE PILOT STATED THAT DUE TO A HIGH FAST APCH HE ATTEMPTED A RIGHT 270 DEGREE TURN IN ORDER TO LAND TO THE NORTH, JUST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT SUBMITTED ON 6-25-84 THE PILOT REFERS TO CONTROL INPUTS FROM THE PASSENGER IN THE FRONT SEAT CAUSING THE ABNORMAL APPROACH AND AN UNCOMMANDED NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE JUST BEFORE COLLISION WITH THE PARKED GLIDER. THE PILOTS LOGS REFLECT 3 HRS IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL GLIDER. HE STATED THAT HE HAD FLOWN SIMILIAR GLIDERS IN THE LATE 1960'S AND HAD ABOUT 3.5 TOTAL HRS IN THE ACFT. HE FURTHER REPORTED TO INVESTIGATORS THAT HE WAS USED TO FLYING ANOTHER GLIDER IN WHICH 90 DEGREE FLAPS ALLOWED STEEPER APPROACHES AND MORE RAPID DESCENTS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,224 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 49 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 2,770 as pilot in command; 181 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,245 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 10, 1984; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,102 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Operator: New Mexico Soaring Ranch
The flight
- Departed from: Edgewood NM at 5:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 5,280 ft by 400 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:52 pm from ABQ, 27 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N48032 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.