- Date
- May 5, 2001, 15:07 local (22:07 UTC)
- Place
- Adelanto, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7605Schweizer SGS 1-34
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 28, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- WP-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010505008629A
- Case key
- 52297
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 stall/mush as a result of his inadequate airspeed and improperly planned final approach.
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 was towed by airplane to about 1,000 feet above ground level (agl) when the towline broke. Unable to find lift, the student pilot returned to the departure airfield. He entered the traffic pattern at 800 feet agl and attempted to land. On approach, the wind speed increased from about 5 to 10 knots. The pilot misjudged his distance from the runway and stalled. The glider impacted the sandy terrain about 200 feet short of the runway.
.
Factual narrative
On May 5, 2001, about 1507 hours Pacific daylight time, a Schweizer SGS 1-34, N7605, owned and operated by the Phoenix Club, Inc., Anaheim, California, sustained substantial damage when it landed short of the runway at Krey Field, Adelanto, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the solo instructional flight, and no flight plan was filed. The student pilot was seriously injured. The flight was performed under 14 CFR Part 91 and originated from the field about 1457.
According to the pilot, he was towed by airplane to 4,000 feet mean sea level (about 1,000 feet above ground level (agl)), at which time the tow line broke. The line wrapped around the glider's left wing. Unable to find lift, the student pilot returned to the departure airfield, arriving at 800 feet agl. The pilot stated that he entered the traffic pattern to runway 09 and attempted to land. However, when the wind speed increased he misjudged his approach. The airplane touched down in a stalled attitude on the sandy terrain an estimated 200 feet short of the runway.
The pilot estimated that the local wind was from the west. Its speed varied between 5 and 10 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7605
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 1-34
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 50
- Airframe hours
- 3,066
- Engine
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Phoenix Club, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 6, 2001 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- 0CL1 · El Mirage, CA
- Destination
- El Mirage, CA
- Airport
- 0CL1 · Krey Field, runway 09, 5,000 × ft, dirt
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
- 63
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Student
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 120 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 11 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 45 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- EDW, 25 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 N7605 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.