# Accident 19960705016429A: Scwzer SGS126E, Marston Mills, MA, July 5, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 5, 1996, 16:30 local time
- Place: Marston Mills, MA
- Airport: Cape Cod Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.6853° N, 70.4022° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CAPE COD (2B1), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.6853&lon=-70.4022&mi=10
- Aircraft: N603MX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N603MX-2015-04-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schweizer SGS 1-26E (registry code 8050124, https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-1-26e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SCWZER SGS126E
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC96LA140](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC96LA140) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960705016429A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

TOW ROPE BROKE ON TAKEOFF, GLIDER STALLED, SPUN IN, STRUCK GROUND. (-23) AT APPROXIMATELY 1400EDT, 07/05/96, I RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL FROM MY SUPERVISOR, GARY CLARKE, REQUESTING ME TO INVESTIGATE A GLIDER ACCIDENT AT CAPE COD AIRPORT, MARSTONS MILLS, MA.  WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT, THE PILOT HAD BEEN MED EVACTED TO A BOSTON HOSPITAL. MASS AERONAUTICS INSPECTOR BUNKER WAS ON THE SCENE AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF THE STATE AND LOCAL POLICE.  WITNESSES STATED THAT THE GLIDER, N603MX HAD TAKEN OFF THEN BEGAN PITCH OSCILLATION THAT RESULTED IN A PITCH ATTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 45 DEGREES OR MORE NOSE UP.  AT THAT POINT THE TOW ROPE BROKE AT THE TOW PLANE.  THE GLIDER THEN DROPPED OFF TO THE RIGHT, TURNED APPROXIMATELY 180 DEGREES AND MOMENTARILY APPEARED TO PASS THROUGH A LEVEL FLIGHT ATTITUDE.  IT THEN DROPPED OFF INTO A RIGHT HAND SPIN, MADE APPROXIMATELY TWO TURNS AND IMPACTED THE GROUND.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC96LA140](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC96LA140), Jul 5, 1996: Schweizer SGS 1-26E (N603MX), Marston Mills, MA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: failure of the pilot to maintain control of the glider while being towed during takeoff, which resulted in a pitch oscillation, failure of the tow cable, loss of airspeed, an inadvertent stall/spin,…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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