- Date
- May 3, 1994, 15:20 local (22:20 UTC)
- Place
- Hemet, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1163SSchweizer SGS 1-34
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 7, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940503009939A
- Case key
- 28735
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 an adequate airspeed while maneuvering in the traffic pattern, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor in the accident was the pilot's low total flight time.
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
A ground witness observed the aircraft enter the traffic pattern for runway 22 at a slow rate of speed. The glider continued to slow down as it made a skidding flat turn from downwind to base. During the base to final turn, the witness saw the aircraft enter a two-turn spin and impact the ground nose first. An FAA airworthiness inspector responded to the accident site and reported that he did not find any mechanical discrepancies. The pilot was issued his private certificate with a glider rating on March 12, 1994.
Factual narrative
On May 3, 1994, at 1520 Pacific daylight time, a Schweizer SGS 1- 34 glider, N1163S, collided with the ground following a loss of control in the traffic pattern at the Hemet, California, airport. The glider was owned and operated by Sailplane Enterprises of Hemet and was rented by the pilot for a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The glider was destroyed in the ground collision sequence. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The flight originated from the Hemet airport on the day of the accident about 1430 hours.
A ground witness reported observing the aircraft enter the traffic pattern for runway 22 at a slow rate of speed. The glider was observed continuing to slow down as it made a skidding flat turn from down ind to base. During the base to final turn, the witness saw the aircraft enter a two-turn spin and impact the ground nose first.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Riverside, California, Flight Standards District Office responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. The inspector reported that he did not find any mechanical discrepancies.
The pilot was issued his private certificate with a glider rating on March 12, 1994.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1163S
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 1-34
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 63
- Airframe hours
- 3,355
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sailplane Enterprises
- Registered owner
- Sailplane Enterprises
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 29, 1993 · 102 hours before
- Departed
- HMT
- Airport
- HMT · Hemet-Ryan, runway 22, 2,300 × 30 ft, asphalt
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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 106 total · 86 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 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 N1163S · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.