- Date
- June 20, 2005, 16:24 local (20:24 UTC)
- Place
- Bloomingburg, NY
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N341PWPZL Swidnik PW-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Albany, NY
- FAA report
- 20050620010609A
- Case key
- 61766
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 failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent impact with terrain.
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 was participating in a competition between regional glider pilots. After approximately 2.5 hours of gliding, while heading towards Middletown, New York, the pilot stated that thermal lift began to decrease, so he decided to divert to a closer airport. About 4.1 nautical miles from the airport, his glide computer indicated an estimated arrival altitude of 350 feet agl. Over the next mile, lift continued to be lost and the glider descended about 300 feet, which forced the pilot to find an off airport location to land. The pilot set up a right hand traffic pattern to a hay field and when he made a right turn from the base leg of the traffic pattern to the final leg, the glider's "airspeed was low" and it subsequently "stalled and nosed down."
Factual narrative
On June 20, 2005, about 1624 eastern daylight time, a PZL-Swidnik PW-5 glider, N341PW, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while maneuvering for an off airport landing near Bloomingburg, New York. The certificated private pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 which departed the Blairstown Airport (1N7), Blairstown, New Jersey.
According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to fly the "governor's cup north course" as part of a competition between regional glider pilots.
After approximately 2.5 hours of gliding, while heading towards Middletown, New York, the pilot stated that thermal lift began to decrease, and he decided to divert to the Wurtsboro-Sullivan County Airport (N82), Wurtsboro, New York. About 4.1 nautical miles from the airport, his glide computer indicated an estimated arrival altitude of 350 feet agl. However, over the next mile, lift continued to be lost, and the glider descended about 300 feet, which forced the pilot to find a off airport location to land.
The pilot chose to land in a hay field bordered by trees. He set up a right hand traffic pattern, and when he made a right turn from the base leg of his traffic pattern to the final leg, his "airspeed was low" and the glider "stalled and nosed down."
A post accident examination of the glider by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, revealed that the glider had sustained substantial damage, and that the fuselage, was bent 90 degrees and exhibited multiple cracks and tears in the composite material.
The pilot reported no mechanical deficiencies with the glider.
A weather observation taken at the Orange County Airport (MGJ), Montgomery, New York, approximately 10 miles from the accident site, at 1654, recorded the winds as variable at 3 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, and clear skies below 12,000 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N341PW
- Reported as
- PZL Swidnik PW-5
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 1712023
- Airframe hours
- 360
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2005 · 80 hours before
- Departed
- 1N7 · Blairstown, NJ
- Destination
- 1N7
- Airport
- N82 · Wurtsboro County Airport, runway 9, 1,100 × 110 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
- 61
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2005
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 1,166 total · 326 in this make and model · 1,131 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- MGJ, 10 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.