Accident Overview
A glider collided with a golf cart while landing at an airport operated by Sylvania Soaring Adventure, Inc. The incident occurred after the glider touched down on runway 07, which measures 3,200 feet by 50 feet and is asphalt. The glider sustained substantial damage, including a cracked and delaminated left wing. Neither the pilot nor the golf cart driver were injured.
Sequence of Events
The pilot had obtained glider tow and support services from Sylvania Soaring Adventure, Inc. for a local flight. While returning to the departure airport, the pilot provided radio transmissions announcing the airplane's position on downwind, base, and final segments of the visual approach to runway 07. Upon touchdown, a member of the support service ground crew crossed the runway in a golf cart at about a 30-degree angle. The pilot turned the glider to avoid hitting the golf cart, but the glider's left wing contacted the cart. The golf cart was not equipped with a radio to monitor and provide information to airport traffic.
Aftermath
Following the accident, Sylvania Soaring Adventure, Inc. adopted new procedures: golf cart drivers must use radios while operating on airport movement areas, drivers must stop and look both ways before crossing runways, and runways are no longer to be crossed at angles less than 90 degrees.