Overall Trends
Total, fatal, and serious accidents in the selected range.
Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.
Fast key and full-text search with live filters, watches, and precise metadata.
Use quotes for exact phrase matches (for example "fuel selector valve").
Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.
Major cases, deep-report coverage, and investigation media across decades of NTSB history.
Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.
NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.
The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.
The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.
Llano, CA
The glider was towed aloft and witnesses observed the right wing oscillating. After release about 400 to 500 feet agl, the glider went into a right spiral and impacted the ground. The airport owner examined the glider after the accident and reported that the quick disconnect fitting for the right aileron was found disconnected. The pilot had reassembled the glider on the morning of the accident and did not perform a control continuity check prior to takeoff.
The failure of the pilot to attach the aileron quick disconnect fitting during assembly of the glider and his inadequate preflight inspection.
On July 5, 1998, at 1335 hours Pacific daylight time, a Rolladen-Schneider LS-6 glider, N6686, collided with the ground during the takeoff initial climb at the Crystal Gliderport in Llano, California. The glider was destroyed and the pilot/owner, the sole occupant, suffered serious injuries. The local area personal flight was originating at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airport owner observed the accident sequence and reported that on the initial takeoff roll, the right aileron and right wing were oscillating. He further reported that as the glider pilot rotated to about 10 feet agl, both wings appeared to be oscillating violently. Approximately 400 to 500 feet agl, the glider pilot released from the tow plane and went into a right spiral and impacted the ground. The airport owner opined that the glider pilot may not have released sooner because he may have attributed the oscillations to turbulence. The airport owner reported that he examined the glider after the accident. He stated that the glider is equipped with quick disconnect fittings on the control system located in the wing center section that allow it to be disconnected and reconnected as the wings are removed or installed. The right aileron fitting was found disconnected. The pilot reassembled the glider on the morning of the accident flight and witnesses did not see him perform a control continuity check prior to takeoff. The pilot does not remember the accident or the events leading up to it.