Ab Sportine Aviacija Genesis 2 N110RG and Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2A N777UN accident near Brackettville, Texas

Probable cause

The failure of the pilot of N777UN to exit the thermal upon losing visual contact with the other gliders, resulting in a midair collision.

NTSB analysis

According to the pilot of N110RG, he was stabilized in a right 55 degree bank and had completed three turns when he heard a loud bang and immediately "lost control." The right wing dropped, the glider rolled to the right, and went inverted. The pilot of N110RG exited the glider and deployed his parachute. During the egress he was seriously injured. According to the pilot of N777UN, he had observed two gliders in the thermal in front of him and entered the thermal underneath them. After two turns in the thermal, he lost sight of the two gliders and collided, shortly thereafter, with N110RG. His left wing and winglet impacted the right wing of the other glider. The pilot of N777UN landed uneventfully. N110RG was destroyed and N777UN sustained minor damage. The damage to the right wing, sustained during the collision, rendered N110RG uncontrollable. Soaring procedure recommend that the pilot exit a thermal if visual contact is lost with another glider and cannot be established via a radio call.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for DEN08LA137 for the full record.