# Accident 20010908039349A: Scwzer SGS135, Cumberland, MD, September 8, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 8, 2001, 16:20 local time
- Place: Cumberland, MD
- Airport: Cumberland Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.6153° N, 78.7615° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.6153&lon=-78.7615&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2540H, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2540H-2013-08-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schweizer SGS 1-35 (registry code 8050148, https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-sgs-1-35) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SCWZER SGS135
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 280 total, 1 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC01LA225](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01LA225) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010908039349A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT WAS FLYING THIS TYPE GLIDER FOR THE FIRST TIME, AFTER RECEIVING A COCKPIT BRIEFING FROM AN INSTRUCTOR THE PILOT WAS TOWED TO 3000 FEET FOR A LOCAL FLIGHT. HE THEN ENTERED A DOWNWIND AT 500 FEET WITH AN AIRSPEED THAT WAS RECOMMENDED DURING THE BRIEFING. PILOT WAS DISTRACTED BY ANOTHER GLIDER LANDING ON THE RUNWAY AHEAD OF HIM AND HE DISCOVERED THAT THE SPOILER/FLAP COMBINATION WAS NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS PREVIOUS MAKES AND MODELS HE HAS FLOWN. AS A RESULT HE WAS HIGH AND FAST. WHEN HE MADE CONTACT WITH THE 3400 FOOT RUNWAY HE BOUNCED SEVERAL TIMES APPROX. 10 FEET INTO THE AIR AND THEN A FINAL BOUNCE AT THE END, UP AND OVER OVER A DIRT BERM INTO A 12 FOOT CHAIN LINK FENCE. THE GLIDER STRUCK THE FENCE AT APPROX 35 KNOTS AND LEFT AN INDENT IN THE FENCING APPROX. 5 FEET DEEP. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WITH NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT.

## 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 NYC01LA225](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC01LA225), Sep 8, 2001: Schweizer SGS 1-35 (N2540H), Cumberland, MD, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot misjudged distance and altitude. A factor was the pilot's lack of familiarity with the glider.

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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