- Date
- July 3, 1998, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Perry, SC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2157Mbb Phoebus C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980703015749A
- Case key
- 4004
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 loss of control during takeoff, leading to an in-flight collision with the ground. A factor was the pilot's lack of recent experience in a high performance glider.
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
According to the pilot, the glider was being towed for takeoff by a truck. As the glider reached its takeoff speed of 45 knots, he remembers pulling back on the control stick. From that point on, the pilot has no recollection of the events that took place. According to the tow driver, on takeoff, the glider rotated sharply nose-up, rolled left, and struck the ground inverted. The FAA inspector stated the pilot had not flown this type of high performance glider in the last 30 days. He also stated the glider stalled and began a left spin on initial tow, due to the pilot rotating too hard, too fast, and too low to the ground. The nose pitched up above 90 degrees, allowing the tow cable to automatically release, and the glider stalled approximately 75 feet above the ground. It impacted the ground inverted, downwind from the runway centerline.
Factual narrative
On July 3, 1998, about 1600 eastern daylight time, a Waggon und Maschinenbau Phoebus C glider, N2157, collided with terrain on takeoff, at a private airstrip near Perry, South Carolina. The accident occurred at the time of departure. The glider was operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The private pilot received minor injuries, and the glider was substantially damaged. According to the pilot, the glider was being towed for takeoff by a truck. As the glider reached its takeoff speed of 45 knots, he remembers pulling back on the control stick. From that point on, the pilot has no recollection of the events that took place. According to the tow driver, on takeoff, the glider rotated sharply nose-up, rolled left, and struck the ground inverted.
The FAA inspector stated the pilot had not flown this type of high performance glider in the last 30 days. He also stated the glider stalled and began a left spin on initial tow, due to the pilot rotating too hard, too fast, and too low to the ground. The nose pitched up above 90 degrees, allowing the tow cable to automatically release, and the glider stalled approximately 75 feet above the ground. It impacted the ground inverted, downwind from the runway centerline.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2157
- Reported as
- Mbb Phoebus C
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 880
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard S. Chesser
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- PVT
- Airport
- PVT · Perry International A/P, runway 27, 5,000 × 120 ft, grass/turf
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 70 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AGS, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.