Amateur-built BRIEGLEB BG-12B accident near Heber City, Utah, June 23, 1985
On June 23, 1985, a amateur-built BRIEGLEB BG-12B (glider), registered N997, was destroyed in an accident near Heber City, Utah (Heber Valley 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 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
- June 23, 1985
- Place
- Heber City, Utah · Heber Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BRIEGLEB BG-12B BRIEGLEB B
- Registration
- N997 · registry record · serial 0569
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS A GEORGE KILLIAN/BRIEGLEB BG-12B, EXPERIMENTAL, HOME BUILT GLIDER. AN OWNER REPORTED THAT THE PLT HAD COME FROM NEW MEXICO TO BUY THE GLIDER. AFTER SPENDING ABOUT 3 HRS IN FAMILIARIZATION TRAINING, THE PLT WENT ON HIS 1ST FLT WHICH WAS UNEVENTFUL. HE THEN WENT ON A 2ND FLT WHICH WAS APPROXIMATELY 1 HR IN DURATION. AS THE GLIDER WAS ON FINAL APCH TO LAND & WAS AT ABOUT 100 TO 150 FT AGL, IT ENTERED A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE & CRASHED. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE GLIDER SMOOTHLY PITCHED OVER INTO A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE WITHOUT STALLING. AN EXAM OF THE FLT CONTROLS WAS MADE, BUT NO PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF THE ELEVATOR CONTROL SYS WAS FOUND. A PATHOLOGICAL EXAM OF THE PLT REVEALED NO MEDICAL PROBLEMS THAT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN THE ACCIDENT.
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: private
- Ratings: rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 58 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 33 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 234 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, June 22, 1985; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 805 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Unknown UNK (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 36U at 11:00 pm
- Destination: 36U
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 4,400 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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.