Let BLANIK L-13 accident near Monroe, Georgia, July 10, 1999
On July 10, 1999 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Let BLANIK L-13 (glider), registered N90842, was substantially damaged in an accident near Monroe, Georgia (Monroe Walton County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot-in command's improper handling and inflight decisions resulting in an undershoot of the intended landing runway. The pilot-in-command then failed to maintain airspeed, which resulted in a stall and the right wingtip impacting the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 10, 1999 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Monroe, Georgia · Monroe Walton County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Let BLANIK L-13 BLANIK L-1 · all BLANIK L-13s on the register
- Registration
- N90842 · no longer on the register · serial 025306
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The glider landed in a filed north of the runway about 2,000 feet short of the intended touchdown point. According to the Certified flight instructor (CFI), pilot-in-command, the aircraft entered a left base for runway 21, and turned final about 3-4,000 feet from the runway, at an altitude of about 800 agl. He instructed the student pilot to deploy the spoilers in order to get down to glideslope, and maintained pattern speed of 50 knots. The CFI took control of the glider. He said the glider started to sink fast, and the airspeed was 43 knots. The spoilers were closed, but the CFI said, '...we were too low to make the runway...I made a descending right turn while deploying the spoilers and slowing...the only option was a small pasture less then 300 feet long with...trees at the far end and a ditch...I stalled at about 2-3 feet above the ground with the right wing slightly down, still turning. The plane pivoted around the right wing tip and stopped in about 60 feet.'
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,047 hours in all; 140 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 851 as pilot in command; 108 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,000 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 30, 1999; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,107 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: D73 at 5:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 3,300 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 4,200 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from ATL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.