# Accident 19980717036289A: Pdp SZD503, California City, CA, July 17, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 17, 1998, 15:07 local time
- Place: California City, CA
- Airport: California City Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1495° N, 117.9191° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1495&lon=-117.9191&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7215L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7215L-2000-04-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Pdps Pzl-Bielsko SZD-50-3 (registry code 8821647, https://openairdocs.org/model/pdps-pzl-bielsko-szd-50-3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PDP SZD503
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,668 total, 80 in this make and model, 35 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98FA235](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA235) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980717036289A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JULY 17, 1998, AT 1507 HOURS PDT, A PZL-BIELSKO MODEL 50-3 GLIDER, N7215L, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING 2 MILES WEST OF CALIFORNIA CITY, CALIFORNIA AIRPORT. THE COMMERCIAL LICENSED PILOT AND THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT LICENSED SECOND PILOT WERE FATALLY INJURED. VISUALMETEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WHICH ORIGINATED FROM CALIFORNIA CITY ABOUT 1445. THE PILOT OF ANOTHER GLIDER, FLYING ABOUT 4 MILES FROM THE ACCIDENT LOCATION, REPORTED HIS ATTENTION WAS DRAWN TO THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT BY THE SUN GLISTENING OFF THE WINGS AS THE AIRCRAFT SPUN, NOSE LOW, APPROXIMATELY THREE REVOLUTIONS BEFORE IMPACTING THE DESERT FLOOR. (.4) THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO FAMILARIZE THE SECOND PILOT WITH A NEW TYPE OF GLIDER THAT HE HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY FLOWN. THE FIRST PILOT WAS AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM CHECKOUTS FOR THE PRIVATE FLYING CLUB. THE TOW PLANE RELEASED THE GLIDER ABOUT 2 MILES FROM THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT AT 2,000 FEET AGL. THE PILOT OF ANOTHER GLIDER REPORTED THAT HIS ATTENTION WAS ATTRACTED TO THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER, WHEN THE GLIDER WAS ABOUT 4 MILES DISTANT, BY THE SUN GLISTENING OFF THE WINGS AS THE AIRCRAFT SPUN IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. IT COMPLETED APPROXIMATELY THREE TURNS BEFORE IMPACTING THE GROUND. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE DID NOT REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE AIRCRAFT.

## 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 LAX98FA235](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98FA235), Jul 17, 1998: PZL-Bielsko SZD 50-3 (N7215L), California City, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The failure of the first and/or second pilot to obtain and maintain control of the aircraft after stalling and entering a 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.

---
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.