Aug 5, 2018
Accident
Substantial Churchville, MD
InjuriesNone
Phase of Flight-
ConditionsVMC
OperationFAR 091
Probable Cause
The pilots' decision to take off from a wet, upsloping turf runway with a quartering tailwind and elevated density altitude conditions, which degraded takeoff and climb performance and resulted in the glider flight instructor's decision to discontinue the takeoff and the glider's subsequent impact with trees. Also causal was the pilots' failure to adhere to the operator's standard operating procedures, which prohibited takeoff with a tailwind.
NTSB ERA18LA211