- Date
- November 19, 1994, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hilltown, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N33938Schweizer SGS 2-33A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941119046549A
- Case key
- 9018
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
Improper in-flight planning decision by the pilot, which resulted in insufficient altitude to maintain clearance from trees.
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 student pilot was released from tow at three thousand feet AGL. The student was unable to find lift and returned to the gliderport. During a low final approach the left wing of the glider struck trees. The glider rotated into the trees where it became lodged. The pilot reported the accident could have been avoided by 'better landing preparation. [And by] planning a higher pattern.'
Factual narrative
On November 19, 1994, at 1330 eastern standard time, a Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider, N33938, registered to Philadelphia Glider Council Inc., of Perkasie, Pennsylvania, collided with trees while on final approach to land at the Philadelphia Gliderport near Hilltown, Pennsylvania. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot was not injured. The glider sustained substantial damage. The local flight which was operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the owner of the glider, the flight was conducted for solo training. The student pilot was released from tow at three thousand feet above ground level. The student stated he was unable to find lift and returned to the gliderport. During a low final approach the wing of the glider struck trees. The glider rotated into the trees where it became lodged. The pilot was able to exit the glider and climb down the tree.
The pilot reported the accident could have been avoided by "Better Landing Preparation. [and by] Planning a higher Pattern."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N33938
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 2-33A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 398
- Airframe hours
- 3,084
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Susan Goff, doing business as Philadelphia Glider Council,In
- Registered owner
- Philadelphia Glider Council,In
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 1994 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- OPAO
- Airport
- OPAO · Philadelphia Gliderport, runway 31, 2,000 × 300 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
- 64
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 90 total · 90 in this make and model · 45 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.