History of Flight
On March 20, 2011, at approximately 1415 mountain daylight time, a Glasflugel Standard Libelle glider, registration N99AE, impacted terrain near Wellington, Colorado. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The glider suffered substantial damage to its right wing. The flight originated from Owl Canyon Gliderport near Wellington at about 1406 and was conducted under visual flight rules (VFR) without a flight plan.
A witness at the gliderport observed the glider being towed to pattern altitude and then released. The witness reported seeing the glider maneuver in steep bank turns, during which it descended. At one point, the glider performed a rapid "zoom" climb, followed by a brief period of inverted flight before descending, wings level, at about a 60-degree nose-down pitch into terrain.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 82, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine, instrument, lighter-than-air balloon, and glider. He also held a certified flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine and glider ratings. According to FAA records, his most recent third-class medical application was dated June 13, 2010, on which he reported over 15,000 total flight hours and over 20 hours in the preceding six months.
Insurance company records provided excerpts from the pilot's logbook, which did not contain a running total of flight time. An endorsement indicated that he completed a flight review on May 9, 2009. A letter from the pilot's physician detailed his medical history, including a five-vessel coronary artery bypass in 1997, a prior small inferior myocardial infarction, and a pacemaker that was functioning normally as of February 4, 2011. The pilot typically took one Hydrocodone 5/500 at bedtime for chronic neck pain.
Aircraft Information
The glider, N99AE, was a Glasflugel Standard Libelle, serial number 182, constructed of composite materials. It had been stored for about 14 years before the pilot purchased it. Its last annual inspection was completed on December 13, 2010, at a total airframe time of 1,565 hours, and it was deemed airworthy at that time.
A witness reported that the pilot had mentioned issues with the dive brakes partially popping open during rough ground rolls on previous winch and aerotow launches. The pilot stated he could not lock them back in the air but could hold them shut by hand. A mechanic reportedly examined the glider the previous week, finding insufficient or hardened grease in the mechanism. The mechanic lubricated the fittings, after which the dive brake handle moved smoothly. The pilot intended to test the dive brakes in flight. No logbook endorsement documented this lubrication.
Meteorological Information
At 1335, weather conditions at Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport were recorded as wind from 110 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 20 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear sky, temperature 17°C, dew point -9°C, and altimeter 29.91 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The glider came to rest in a ravine east of County Road 7. The right wing had struck an embankment, causing multiple cracks from leading to trailing edge, with its dive brake extended. The canopy was shattered. The left wing's dive brake was found retracted. FAA inspectors examined the wreckage and found no pre-impact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the Larimer County Coroner's Office listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. The autopsy noted that cardiac disease may have been contributory. The NTSB Chief Medical Officer observed that the pilot suffered significant traumatic injuries typically resulting in catastrophic blood loss, but no significant blood loss was noted.
A readout of the pilot's pacemaker indicated a ventricular tachycardia event at 1419. The pacemaker's manufacturer representative stated that the timestamp can be adjusted by the computer used for downloading and may not be accurate to external standards. The length of the tachycardia episode could not be measured, and the device was not equipped to terminate life-threatening arrhythmias as it lacked an automatic internal cardiac defibrillator.
Toxicology tests detected acetaminophen, dihydrocodeine (in urine only), hydrocodone (in urine only), norpropoxyphene, and propoxyphene (in urine only) in the pilot's system. The FAA's WebDrugs notes that acetaminophen is a common analgesic, dihydrocodeine is a semisynthetic narcotic, propoxyphene is a pain medication, and norpropoxyphene, a metabolite, may impair mental or physical ability for hazardous tasks.