Ab Sportine Aviacija GENESIS 2 accident near Minden, Nevada, June 13, 1999
On June 13, 1999 at about 8:20 pm local time, a Ab Sportine Aviacija GENESIS 2 (glider), registered N240BG, was destroyed in an accident near Minden, Nevada (Minden-Tahoe 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 flight control stabilator becoming disconnected during the initial ground tow. Factors in the accident were the inadequate preflight by the pilot and communications with the pilot not possible.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 13, 1999 · about 8:20 pm local time
- Place
- Minden, Nevada · Minden-Tahoe · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Ab Sportine Aviacija GENESIS 2
- Registration
- N240BG · no longer on the register · serial 2003
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The glider pilot was practicing for an upcoming glider competition. He usually had his wife help him assemble the glider. This day he had sent her out for radio batteries and when she returned he had already assembled the horizontal stabilator to the vertical tail section. A short while later the pilot indicated he was ready to fly the glider. As the tow plane began to tow the glider, the wife held the wing. As she released the wing, she said she heard a noise and observed the horizontal stabilator lying on the runway as it had fallen off the aircraft. The wife immediately ran over to a man standing nearby who had a radio, and told him to contact her husband on the radio and tell him to release the aircraft from the tow plane. She watched the man transmit the message to the glider pilot, without success. The aircraft left the runway, climbed to approximately 100 feet agl, and nosed over and crashed into the runway. Postaccident investigation of the glider pilot's handheld radio determined it was incorrectly set to the wrong frequency. Additionally, examination of the vertical stabilator revealed that the stabilator was improperly installed prior to the accident flight.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 6,550 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 3, 1998
- Maximum gross weight: 1,157 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MEV Minden NV at 8:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 7,395 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 pm from RNO, 30 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.