Watch a glider come in for a crash landing

Licensed pilot Larry Hockensmith has over 40 years flying experience, but when it comes to soaring he`s just a student glider pilot.
He was flying over the Cleveland National Forest, a few miles southwest of Lake Elsinore, CA, when he came in for a rather unconventional landing, totalling his Schweizer 1-26 sailplane, valued at $8,500.

In Larry`s own words..


"Complacency has no place in soaring. I was trained better than to have lingered on the lee-side of a ridge over rough terrain. The dramatic outlanding was due to my actions exclusively.

While tight turns over roofs, brushing treetops and dodging street signs are not desired flight maneuvers, they do make for interesting viewing. An almost perfect (for a power pilot and plane but not a sailplane) landing until an unnoticed mailbox catches the right wing of the sailplane about 8 inches from the tip.

The original is 16 minutes of Full High Definition Video and shows every second of the events leading to this out-landing/ crash. It has been closely reviewed and much learning has taken place. My instructor, safety officer, FAA and NTSB were all outstanding professionals in helping grow skills from this experience.

More videos on this are coming. See if you can spot how the differences between a power pilot's training and a glider pilot's training could have contributed to this outcome."