# Incident 20200509004709I: Schweizer SGS 1-26E, Byron, CA, May 9, 2020

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 9, 2020, 13:27 local time
- Place: Byron, CA
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.8756° N, 121.6421° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Byron, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.8756&lon=-121.6421&mi=10
- Aircraft: N65972, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N65972) (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: SCHWEIZER SGS 1-26E
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 2,840 total, 13 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200509004709I

## Narrative

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

VIDEO SHOWS AIRCRAFT N4116Y TAKING OFF IN TOW WITH GLIDER AIRCRAFT N65972 ATTACHED VIA TOW ROPE. SHORTLY AFTER TAKE OFF IT APPEARS THE GLIDER NOSE UP HIGHER THAN TOW AIRCRAFT. GLIDER THEN APPEARS TO PITCH DOWN BRIEFLY AND THEN PITCHES TO AN EVEN HIGHER LEVEL THAN THE TOW AIRCRAFT. AT THIS POINT IT APPEARS THE TOW AIRCRAFT CUTS THE TOW LINE AND PITCHES DOWN AT AN EXTREME ANGLE CAUSING AIRCRAFT TO CRASH INTO THE RUNWAY WHERE IT BECOMES INVERTED. THE AIRCRAFT THEN SLIDES TO A STOP WHERE SHORTLY BECOMES ENGULFED IN FLAMES. ONE FATALITY TO PILOT OF AIRCRAFT N4116Y. GLIDER AIRCRAFT N65972 LANDED SAFELY ON RUNWAY WITH ONE PILOT ON BOARD.

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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