- Date
- June 13, 2021, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Nellysford, VA · Soaring Club Airport
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N33929Schweizer SGS 2-33A
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210613007459A
- Case key
- 103251
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 student pilot's failure to maintain an appropriate glide path to the runway.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During an instructional flight in a glider, the student was high on the final approach, deployed the spoilers and entered a forward slip. The flight instructor stated that shortly after, the student “suddenly and unexpectedly” pulled back on the control stick while the rudder and ailerons were cross controlled. The flight instructor immediately took control, pushed the control stick forward and closed the spoilers; however, insufficient altitude remained for a full recovery, which resulted in a hard landing and serious injuries to the instructor. The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N33929
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 2-33A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 411
- Built
- 1975
- Airframe hours
- 1,516.6
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Shenandoah Valley Soaring Inc
- Registered owner
- Shenandoah Valley Soaring Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Other
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 3, 2021
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- VG22 · Rockfish, runway 24, 1,700 × 40 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 56
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Sport Pilot, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 19, 2021
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 428 total · 91 in this make and model · 362 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 17
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 10 total · 10 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- SHD, 23 nm away
- METAR
- KSHD 131835Z AUTO 13003KT 10SM SCT034 BKN075 BKN085 29/20 A2993 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT NE T02870200
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 28, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N33929 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.