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.
Jean, NV
The pilot reported that after climbing to about 50 feet above ground level and reaching an airspeed of about 60 knots "...the glider would not continue to climb and immediately began to descend." The pilot stated that he lowered the nose and released the tow rope to land straight ahead, but immediately upon releasing [the tow rope] the left wing raised and the aircraft drifted right between the two runways. The pilot further stated, "In spite of a full left control stick input the glider continued to roll steeply right, and at the same time [I] had the sensation of being blown sideways and that the tail was being lifted up in an uncontrollable nose-down attitude." The pilot reported that the aircraft struck the ground on the right wing tip first, then the front nosewheel, then the tailwheel. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the undercarriage and the empennage. The pilot stated that he thought he had encountered a dust devil that was not in view and to the rear of the glider during takeoff. A witness reported that the glider seemed to be "...pushed down, though making forward progress until it turned steeply right." The pilot reported no anomalies with the glider.
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the glider during the initial climb due to an inadvertent encounter with wind.
The pilot reported that after climbing to about 50 feet above ground level and reaching an airspeed of about 60 knots "...the glider would not continue to climb and immediately began to descend." The pilot stated that he lowered the nose and released the tow rope to land straight ahead, but immediately upon releasing [the tow rope] the left wing raised and the aircraft drifted right between the two runways. The pilot further stated, "In spite of a full left control stick input the glider continued to roll steeply right, and at the same time [I] had the sensation of being blown sideways and that the tail was being lifted up in an uncontrollable nose-down attitude." The pilot reported that the aircraft struck the ground on the right wing tip first, then the front nose wheel, then the tail wheel. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the undercarriage and the empennage. The pilot stated that he thought he had encountered a dust devil that was not in view and to the rear of the glider during takeoff. A witness reported that the glider seemed to be "...pushed down, though making forward progress until it turned steeply right." The pilot reported no anomalies with the glider.