- Date
- September 14, 1998, 14:08 local (21:08 UTC)
- Place
- Truckee, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N59SEPZL-Bielsko SZD-59
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980914024009A
- Case key
- 43958
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 failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient airspeed which resulted in a inadvertent stall/spin.
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 pilot was approximately 350 feet over the trees and was having trouble gaining lift. He reported that he made a turn, slowed his airspeed to 46 knots, and applied excessive rudder in the turn. The glider entered a spin and subsequently impacted a grove of pine trees that were approximately 70 feet agl. The pilot did not report experiencing any mechanical discrepancies, but stated that he should have monitored his airspeed more carefully and should have been more careful with turn coordination.
Factual narrative
On September 14, 1998, at 1408 hours Pacific daylight time, a PDPS PZL-Bielsko SZD-59 glider, N59SE, impacted hilly terrain 2 miles northeast of the Truckee-Tahoe Airport, Truckee, California. The aircraft was destroyed and the private pilot, the sole occupant, suffered serious injuries. The personal flight originated at the Truckee Airport at 1352, and no flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The pilot reported that within 5 to 10 minutes of tow release, he was approximately 350 feet over the trees and was having trouble gaining lift. He reported that he made a 180-degree turn, slowed his airspeed to 46 knots, and applied "excessive rudder" in the turn. The glider entered a spin and subsequently impacted a grove of pine trees that were approximately 70 feet agl. The pilot did not report experiencing any mechanical discrepancies with the aircraft prior to the accident, but stated that he should have monitored his airspeed more carefully, and should have been more careful with turn coordination.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59SE
- Reported as
- PZL-Bielsko SZD-59
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- B-2166
- Airframe hours
- 272
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eric June
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 6, 1998 · 98 hours before
- Departed
- TRK · Truckee, CA
- Airport
- TRK · Truckee-Tahoe
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Private
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 113 total · 42 in this make and model · 92 as pilot in command · 56 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.