- Date
- January 31, 1987, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Marana, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N5727SSchweizer SGS 2-33
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 21, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870131001909A
- Case key
- 25512
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During a winch tow, the cable prematurely released the glider at approximately 100 to 150 feet. The glider remained in a nose high attitude momentarily then began a shallow descending right turn. At approximately 75 feet the roll, pitch, and descent rate accelerated. The glider completed approximately 140 degrees of turn then collided with the terrain in a steep nose down attitude. Service bulletin no. SA-001 and airworthiness directive 87-02-01 were adopted to prevent the possibility of an inadvertent tow-hook release during towing operations. The AD had not been complied with at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5727S
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 2-33
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 71
- Airframe hours
- 6,901
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Tucson Soaring Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 15, 1986
- Departed
- Marana, AZ
- Airport
- El Tiro Glider Port, runway 26, 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
- 38
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 70 total · 35 in this make and model · 36 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS, 30 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.