- Date
- June 26, 1994, 14:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Plymouth, MA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1175SSchweizer SGS2-32
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 7, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940626016689A
- Case key
- 8946
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-in-command's improper in-flight planning and decision. A factor related to the accident is a downdraft.
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 reported that while gliding, there was 'no lift' so he decided to turn back toward the departure airport. He attempted to 'find lift all the way' back to the airport, but there was none. He stated the airplane then encountered 'extreme downdrafts of at least 1,000 feet per minute,' and he realized he would not be able to make a landing at the airport. He elected to land on a golf course. As he approached to land on a fairway, he noticed golfers on the ground ahead of him. He banked steeply to avoid the golfers, and the glider 'sank rapidly.' The glider impacted a tree during the landing roll. No mechanical malfunctions were reported.
Factual narrative
On June 26, 1994, about 1445 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer SGS2-32 glider, N1175S, impacted a tree and was substantially damaged during an off-field landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The commercial pilot received serious injuries, and his two passengers received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The personal flight departed from Plymouth Airport via aero tow and was conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot reported that he released from the tow plane about 4,700 feet above the ground at 1445. He stated that there was "no lift" so he decided to turn back toward the Plymouth Airport. As he was flying back to the airport, he attempted to "find lift all the way," but there was none. He stated the airplane then encountered "extreme downdrafts of at least 1,000 feet per minute," and he realized he would not be able to make a landing at the airport. He elected to land on a golf course located about 2 miles north of the airport. As he approached to land on a fairway, he noticed golfers on the ground ahead of him. He made "sharp turns" to avoid the golfers and the glider "sank rapidly." The glider impacted hilly terrain and a tree.
According to an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector from Bedford, Massachusetts, the left wing of the glider was substantially damaged at impact with a tree during the landing roll. No mechanical malfunctions were found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1175S
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS2-32
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 75
- Airframe hours
- 2,749
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Simmons, Daniel F., doing business as Plymouth Aviation And Soaring
- Registered owner
- Simmons, Daniel F.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 4, 1994 · 13 hours before
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
- 66
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 12,062 total · 52 in this make and model · 11,993 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PVD, 35 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.