ERA22FA227

The student pilot was maneuvering the glider for landing in the grass area left of and parallel to the runway after a solo traffic pattern flight. Witnesses reported that, as the pilot turned the glider left from the base leg to final, the turn was “early,” resulting in the glider being left of the approach path, and “slightly higher than normal.” The pilot performed a forward slip and recovered, which appeared to put the glider closer to a normal glidepath; however, it was “somewhat close” to tall trees located to the left of the approach path. The pilot then entered another forward slip, and the glider maintained a slight left bank during the recovery, which placed it closer to the trees. The left wing subsequently impacted a tree and the glider rotated to the left, pitched downward, and descended into a grass field adjacent to the tree line. Examination of the glider revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Although a bird remnant was found in the debris path, no remnants were found on the glider or any of its components, and it is likely that the remnant was present before the accident. It is likely that the pilot became fixated on attaining the proper glide path during the landing approach and failed to correct the glider’s lateral misalignment with the intended landing area, which resulted in impact with the tree.

On May 15, 2022, at 1458 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer SGS-2-33A glider, N17879, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Blairstown, New Jersey. The student pilot was fatally injured. The glider was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 solo instructional flight. According to the pilot’s flight instructor, he met the pilot at the airport to review his logbook and plan for two instructional flights. He reported the weather as “good with light winds and smooth conditions” based on flights he performed earlier that day. The two dual flights, which were performed in the traffic pattern for runway 25, were uneventful. The instructor noted that the pilot flew well on each flight, exercised good judgement, and flew well within safety limits. Following the completion of the second flight, the instructor issued a 90-day solo endorsement. It was the pilot’s second 90-day solo endorsement; he had received his first in November 2021. The pilot then flew two solo left traffic pattern flights. The first flight was uneventful. During the 2nd solo traffic pattern flight, the flight instructor noticed that the turn from base to final “looked early, and slightly higher than normal.” The glider then entered a forward slip and descended closer to a “normal glide path” for the runway; however, it was “somewhat close to tall trees on the left.” During recovery from a second forward slip, the glider had a slight left bank angle, which caused it to track closer to the trees. The wings then leveled, and the glider impacted trees with its left wing, rotated, and pitched steeply nose-down before it impacted terrain. Examination of the accident site revealed that the glider impacted a tree 254 ft left of the runway 25 centerline, and 390 ft short of the runway threshold (the intended landing area was in the grass to the left of runway 25). The tree was about 60-70 ft tall and displayed broken branches about 10 to 15 ft below its top. The tree was about 20 ft taller than those surrounding it in the tree line. A debris path of broken branches extended parallel to the tree line in a grass field. The path was 25 ft to the right of the trees, was about 165 ft long, and was oriented along a true heading of 234°. There were no glider components or ground scars found along the path, and the glider came to rest inverted. (See figure 1.) Figure 1 - Scene Diagram The glider was largely intact, and all major components were present at the accident site. Both wings displayed leading edge impact/crushing damage outboard of the wing struts. Tree bark fragments were present in the damaged area of the left wing. The fuselage was buckled and twisted toward the right about 2 ft aft of the wing’s trailing edge. The upper 10 inches of the vertical stabilizer and rudder were impact damaged. The forward sections of the cockpit and canopy were crushed and fragmented forward of the front seat. The front seat was relatively undamaged, and the4-point harness was intact and remained attached to each of its mounting points. Flight control continuity was established for all primary flight controls from the cockpit to the control surfaces. All cables and push/pull tubes remained connected, and the elevator, aileron, and rudder could all be moved from the cockpit controls, with binding. The speed brake control lever was in the retracted position and the speed brakes were not extended. Toxicology testing of the pilot was performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Forensic Sciences Laboratory. Ethanol, drugs of abuse, and carboxyhemoglobin were not detected. No medications were found that would have posed a hazard to flight safety. Remnants of a bird’s foot were found at the base of the struck tree. No bird remains were visible on any of the glider’s components. Canopy fragments were sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s Feather Identification lab for DNA testing, along with photos of the foot. No viable avian DNA was detected on the canopy fragments. The foot was identified as chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus).