# Accident 19970608013509A: Scwzer SGS135, Pepperell, MA, June 8, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 8, 1997, 18:05 local time
- Place: Pepperell, MA
- Airport: Sports Center Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.6748° N, 71.5922° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Pepperell, MA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.6748&lon=-71.5922&mi=10
- Aircraft: N17976, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N17976-2000-08-29) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schweizer SGS 1-35 (registry code 8050148, https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-1-35) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SCWZER SGS135
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC97LA108](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA108) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970608013509A

## Narrative

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

SAILPLANE TOO HIGH ON FINAL APPROACH, ATTEMPTED A 360 DEGREE TURN, WENT INTO A STALL SPIN, CRASHED. (-23) ON 06/08/97 @1805 EDT, N17976, A SCHWEIZER SGS 135, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A STALL/SPIN EVENT AND CRASHED INTO THE NASHUA RIVE.  AIRCRAFT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND AT PEPPERELL AIRPORT, PEPPERELL, MA.  THE PILOT, SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, WAS TAKEN TO THE SO. NH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER AND WAS UNAVAILABLE AT THE TIME.

## 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 NYC97LA108](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC97LA108), Jun 8, 1997: Schweizer SGS 135 (N17976), Pepperell, MA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during a turn, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent uncontrolled descent into water.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.