Amateur-built BG-12BD accident near Tehachapi, California, August 26, 2000
On August 26, 2000 at about 11:00 pm local time, a amateur-built BG-12BD (glider), registered N4458, was destroyed in an accident near Tehachapi, California (Mountain 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 pilot exceeded the airspeed limit for operation of the flaps resulting in flap and wing overload and separation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 26, 2000 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Tehachapi, California · Mountain Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BG-12BD
- Registration
- N4458 · no longer on the register · serial CVC-1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The glider was returning to the airport when the left wing and flap separated; the glider entered an uncontrolled descent into terrain. It was about 1 mile north of the airport and about 2,000 feet above the ground. It appeared to be preparing to enter downwind for the landing pattern for runway 27. The altitude was higher than normal for this approach, and the glider's speed was very fast. This glider did not have speed brakes; the flaps were used to slow it down. The flaps appeared to be activated when the left flap and wing separated. A section of the rear spar fractured and separated from the wing. The left wing spar fracture surface exhibited twisting characteristics.
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: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 75 hours in all
- Last flight review: June 23, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine:; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L94 Tehachapi CA at 10:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27R, 5,190 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 97°F (36°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:55 pm from EDW, 29 miles away
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.