- Date
- April 8, 2001, 12:35 local (19:35 UTC)
- Place
- Peoria, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7778SSchweizer 2-33A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 28, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010408006019A
- Case key
- 52035
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 glider's encounter with a dust devil during takeoff that resulted in a loss of control.
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
On takeoff, the glider encountered a dust devil, which resulted in the left wing to strike the ground, then lifting the glider about 50 feet into the air. The pilot released the tow line and the glider started a slow descending turn to the right until it struck the ground.
Factual narrative
On April 8, 2001, at 1235 hours mountain standard time, a Schweizer 2-33A, N7778S, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the ground at Pleasant Valley Airport, Peoria, Arizona. Boboquivari Soaring School, d.b.a. Turf Soaring School, was operating the glider under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a glider ride for a prospective student. The commercial pilot was not injured and one passenger sustained minor injuries. The glider was departing at the time of the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that during takeoff the glider encountered a dust devil, causing the left wing to strike the ground. It then lifted the glider 50 feet into the air. The pilot released the tow line and the glider started a slow descending turn to the right until it struck the ground, cracking the fuselage. The glider came to rest next to the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7778S
- Reported as
- Schweizer 2-33A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 148
- Airframe hours
- 15,015
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Baboquivari Soaring School
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 12, 2001 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- AZ05 · Peoria, AZ
- Destination
- Peoria, AR
- Airport
- P48 · Pleasant Valley Airport, runway 23, 1,500 × 50 ft, gravel
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
- 67
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- December 30, 1999
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 3,832 total · 535 in this make and model · 3,671 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 49 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 5 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N7778S · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.