Diamond Aircraft Industries HK 36 TTC accident near Payson, Arizona, May 29, 2006
On May 29, 2006, a Diamond Aircraft Industries HK 36 TTC (glider), registered N637TT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Payson, Arizona (Payson Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 29, 2006
- Place
- Payson, Arizona · Payson Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Diamond Aircraft Industries HK 36 TTC
- Registration
- N637TT · no longer on the register · serial 36.637
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The powered glider was in the traffic pattern for landing. On the downwind, the pilot applied power from an idle setting to full power but the engine did not respond. The pilot did not believe that a safe landing could be made straight ahead due to a residential area. He turned the glider back toward the runway, and in the turn, the glider lost just enough altitude for the left wing tip to contact the ground. The glider pivoted around the wing tip and came to rest upright. An FAA airworthiness inspector examined the engine and found no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Impact related damage to the engine precluded a test run. The FAA inspector also indicated that there was 10 gallons of fuel on board the glider.
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: 267 hours in all; 267 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 267 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 654 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 1, 2006; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,698 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 914F3 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAN Payson AZ at 11:40 pm
- Destination: PAN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 5,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 11:30 pm from PAN
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.