Gliding to Disaster: A Timeline of Key Events
1987 – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issues a safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) urging transponders on all aircraft – including gliders – after a glider hits a tow plane in California. The glider pilot tells investigators he did not see the tow plane until moments before impact.
1988 – The FAA issues a rule (14 CFR 91.215) requiring aircraft to carry altitude- reporting transponders near primary airports and when flying above 10,000 feet to reduce the potential for mid-air collisions. Gliders are exempted after the FAA concludes they pose no safety hazard.
1996 – Two people die when a glider’s right wing tip strikes the propeller of a small plane in Colorado.
1998 – FAA opts not to follow NTSB’s recommendation to require transponders on gliders and closes the case.
1999 – Three people die when a Cessna towing a glider is hit by another glider in Pennsylvania.
2003- A mid-air collision between a glider and a Piper Cub performing aerobatic maneuvers kills four people in Arizona.
2005- A commuter jet pilot reports nearly colliding with two gliders about 3.5 miles from the Frederick, Maryland airport.
2006 – A Hawker corporate jet and a glider collide in mid-air after the glider pilot turns off his transponder to preserve battery power for his radio.
2007 – A review of 60 near-misses between commercial/corporate jets and gliders shows the most dangerous spots in the U.S. to be Reno, Chicago Midway, Colorado Springs and the Washington D.C. area. The captain of a Boeing 737 reports that he had to take aggressive evasive action 25 nautical miles southwest of Reno after seeing a glider coming at him head-on at 14,000 feet.
January 22, 2008 – FAA denies the Soaring Society of America’s turn-off-transponder request for gliders that are equipped with the devices.
March 31, 2008 – NTSB issues another safety recommendation in response to the 2006 accident, again urging FAA to remove the glider exemptions from its flying requirements.
May 31, 2008 – A Falcon jet with Examiner owner Phil Anschutz and his wife aboard traveling at 287 mph comes within 500 yards – or just seconds away – from a glider at 17,000 feet in Colorado. On the same day, NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker once again urges FAA to require gliders to use transponders in shared airspace.
June 17, 2008 – FAA sets up an internal working group to review NTSB’s recommendations.
December 2008 – The FAA working group considers adding guidelines to existing regulations regarding the installation of transponders in gliders, only to discover that such guidance already exists.
January 7, 2009 – A FAA spokeswoman confirms that there have been no changes to the “glider exemption”rules.
