Schleicher ASW-27 accident near Brigham City, Utah, July 19, 2011
On July 19, 2011 at about 11:21 pm local time, a Schleicher ASW-27 (glider), registered N797V, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Brigham City, Utah. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The glider pilot did not take timely action to locate a safe outlanding area after entering an area where atmospheric lift was not sufficient to maintain soaring flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 19, 2011 · about 11:21 pm local time
- Place
- Brigham City, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schleicher ASW-27 · all ASW-27s on the register
- Registration
- N797V · registry record · serial 27145
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While participating in a soaring contest, the glider pilot entered an area where atmospheric lift was not sufficient. Instead of reversing his course toward better outlanding fields, he continued with the contest course and task. He ultimately ended up in a location where he was forced to attempt an off-airport landing on unsuitable terrain. Immediately upon touchdown, the glider encountered several small boulders that were hidden in the grass, and the left wing tip became snagged in some tall grass, resulting in a loss of directional control. During the resulting ground loop, both wings sustained substantial damage and the empennage tail boom separated from the main part of the 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
- Loss of lift during enroute defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Rough terrain › Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › (general) › Contributed to outcome
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › (general) › (general) › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,018 hours in all; 892 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: KLGU Logan UT at 2:27 pm
- Destination: KLGU Logan UT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 WPR11CA486.