History of Flight
On July 6, 2019, about 1330 central daylight time, a Grob G103 glider, registration N106NS, was substantially damaged when it struck a tree and came to rest in a field near Brandon, Mississippi. The pilot, whose injuries were fatal, was the sole occupant. The glider was registered to and operated by the Central Mississippi Soaring Society, LLC. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time; no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The flight originated about 1315 from Woodbridge Airport (6MS1) in Brandon, en route to Harrell Field Airport (MS08) in Pisgah, Mississippi. According to the towpilot, the purpose was to move two gliders from 6MS1 to MS08, a distance of about 6 nautical miles west of MS08, from where they typically hangered the gliders to where they conducted flights.
The towpilot first towed another glider to 2,000 ft above ground level (agl) southeast of 6MS1, where it released. Returning to 6MS1, the towpilot then picked up the accident glider. The accident pilot had stated he planned to release at 3,000 ft agl.
The second tow was slow due to the glider's weight and high density altitude, but was described as "uneventful." At about 2,100 ft agl, the glider released from the towplane in the same area as the first release. The accident pilot conducted a "normal right turn" after release. The towpilot did not see or hear from the accident glider thereafter.
The pilot of the first glider reported hearing the accident pilot state over the radio that he was "getting low and would probably have to land out." The wreckage was later located in a fenced field about 2.5 miles southeast of 6MS1 and about 6 miles southwest of MS08.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The glider came to rest inverted about 150 ft beyond an oak tree at the edge of a field. Several wire fences crossed the field. A piece of the glider's right wing skin was found in a branch of the oak tree, about 25 to 30 ft above the ground. Small branches and leaves were on the ground beneath that branch. Impact signatures on the tree branch near the wing skin, along with ground scars, were consistent with the glider colliding with the tree before hitting the terrain.
All major components were accounted for at the scene. Control continuity was established to the respective control surfaces. No pre-impact anomalies were noted during the airframe examination.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy conducted by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office in Pearl, Mississippi, determined the cause of death as "blunt force trauma." Toxicological testing by the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was negative for ethanol and carbon monoxide. The specimens were not tested for cyanide. The test was positive for salicylate and losartan. Additionally, carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-hydroxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-OH), the inactive and active metabolites of tetrahydrocannabinol—the primary psychoactive component of marijuana—were detected in urine but not in blood.