- Date
- May 17, 1997, 15:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Wainwright, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2952HSchweizer SGS 1-26E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 29, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19970517011069A
- Case key
- 3080
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
the pilot's inadequate preflight and improper planning/decision. Factors relating to the accident were: an unlatched canopy, and unsuitable terrain for landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was departing in a glider on a local proficiency flight. During the takeoff roll, the glider's canopy suddenly opened. The pilot released the glider from the tow airplane, and landed in unsuitable terrain off the airport environment. The glider received damage to the right side of the nose, the right wingtip, and the fuselage.
Factual narrative
On May 17, 1997, about 1500 Alaska daylight time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26E glider, N2952H, crashed during a precautionary landing at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The glider was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area proficiency flight when the accident occurred. The glider, registered to and operated by the Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
On May 19, 1997, at 1225, a Civil Air Patrol officer reported in a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), the glider was being towed aloft behind a tow airplane. During the initial takeoff roll from runway 24, the glider canopy opened. The pilot released the tow line from the tow plane, and landed off the airport environment. During the landing, the glider received damage to the right side of the nose, the right wingtip, and the fuselage.
The weather conditions were reported as: Wind, 220 degrees at 15 knots with gust to 20 knots; visibility, 7 statute miles; clouds, 5,000 feet broken; temperature, 53 degrees F.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2952H
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 1-26E
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 682
- Airframe hours
- 1,947
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Civil Air Patrol
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 3, 1997 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- FBK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- PAFB · Wainwright Army Air Field, runway 24, 8,552 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 159 total · 4 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.