Glasflugel Standard Libelle accident near Front Royal, Virginia, June 29, 2008
On June 29, 2008 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Glasflugel Standard Libelle (glider), registered N184W, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Front Royal, Virginia (Front Royal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Aircraft control was not maintained during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident was turbulence and inadvertent flight into adverse weather.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 29, 2008 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Front Royal, Virginia · Front Royal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Glasflugel Standard Libelle · all Standard Libelles on the register
- Registration
- N184W · no longer on the register · serial 131
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, the glider was towed to an altitude of 4,700 feet above mean sea level and released. Shortly after release, the pilot encountered severe turbulence that caused the glider to become inverted. During the turbulence encounter, the pilot's head impacted the canopy several times, and shattered the canopy. While the glider was inverted the pilot heard "cracking in the wings." After recovering from the turbulence upset, the pilot attempted to land in a field. While on the final leg of the approach, the glider impacted some trees, and a hard landing resulted. The tree strikes and hard landing caused substantial damage to the wing and fuselage.
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
What happened, in order
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute (cruise)
- Loss of control in flight during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during emergency descent
- Hard landing during landing
The NTSB's findings
- factor Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › (general) › Contributed to outcome
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Tree(s) › Not specified
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surfa › (general) › Not specified
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 700 hours in all; 390 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: February 1, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 770 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine:; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FRR Front Royal VA
- Destination: FRR
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 9,500 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 3:40 pm from OKV, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number NYC08CA236.