INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A small plane that crashed into a grassy median last month appeared “too slow” as it approached the runway while about 1,000 feet above ground level, according to a preliminary crash report. The aircraft – a glider – stalled and spun twice before falling nose-down and slamming into State Road 60.
The pilot – 57-year-old Brian Richard Deams of Nazareth, Pennsylvania – was killed in the single-plane wreck.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report this week with details on the Dec. 6 crash that occurred in the 10000 block of S.R. 60, about half-a-mile northwest of New Hibiscus Airpark Airport. The crash site is west of Interstate 95.
Investigators continue to look for possible safety issues that possibly caused the fatal collision. The Federal Aviation Administration listed the wreck as an accident.
The aircraft was owned by the Treasure Coast Soaring Club.
Deams was the only person aboard the Schleicher ASW24 glider when it hit the ground, investigators said. The pilot was a seasonal member of the Treasure Coast Soaring Club, which is based at New Hibiscus Airpark Airport.
Club members said it was Deams’ first flight after he recently completed familiarization training in the high-performance, single-seat glider, reports show. Investigators described the trip as a personal flight.
Most glider planes, or sail planes, don’t have engines. The gliders are usually either aero towed into the sky and released or catapulted into the air using a long cable from a powerful stationary engine during a winch launch.
Club members said Deams departed from New Hibiscus Airpark Airport about 11:40 a.m. for a local flight. The sky was clear with 6 mph winds coming from the west, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
After about an hour, the glider approached the airport and planned to land at Runway 36.
The aircraft lost speed, went into a stall and spin and then recovered at about 50 feet above ground level, reports show. Deams pitched up. The glider went into another stall and spin, then dropped to the ground.
No additional injuries were reported. Officials secured the wreckage for further investigation.
