- Date
- September 25, 2005, 14:40 local (18:40 UTC)
- Place
- Windsor, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N33964Schweizer SGS-2-33A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050925034379A
- Case key
- 64466
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 solo student pilot's loss of control during landing.
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 of a Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider was on her first solo flight. The pilot released the glider from the tow plane about 3000 feet mean sea level, and upon returning to the gliderport, descended below traffic pattern altitude because she "misread her altimeter." According to witnesses, the glider appeared "very low" on the base leg. The pilot overflew the runway approach path, turned "too sharply" to align with the runway centerline, and "[the glider] fell out of the sky." The glider overflew the runway and struck a hangar wall, a tent support post, and came to rest on top of two ground support vehicles. The pilot reported that there were no deficiencies with the performance and handling of the glider.
Factual narrative
The student pilot of a Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider was on her first solo flight. The pilot released the glider from the tow plane about 3000 feet mean sea level, and upon returning to the gliderport, descended below traffic pattern altitude because she "misread her altimeter." According to witnesses, the glider appeared "very low" on the base leg. The pilot overflew the runway approach path, turned "too sharply" to align with the runway centerline, and "[the glider] fell out of the sky." The glider overflew the runway and struck a hangar wall, a tent support post, and came to rest on top of two ground support vehicles. The pilot reported that there were no deficiencies with the performance and handling of the glider.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N33964
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS-2-33A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 367
- Airframe hours
- 4,967
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Tide487water Soaring Society
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2005
- Departed
- 3VA8 · Windsor, VA
- Destination
- 3VA8 · Windsor, VA
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 16
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2005
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 10 total · 10 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 5 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KSFQ, 11 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.
Other investigations on N33964 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.