- Date
- October 21, 1995, 17:10 local (22:10 UTC)
- Place
- Dunlap, TN
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N237BGlasflugel Mosquito
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951021033579A
- Case key
- 37935
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 airspeed resulting in a spin at an altitude insufficient for recovery.
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 glider was observed by pilots of three other gliders to be flying at a slow airspeed 400-500 feet above trees on a ridge line. The nose of the glider pitched up and the glider stalled and entered a spin from which it crashed.
Factual narrative
On October 21, 1995, about 1710 central daylight time, a Glasflugel Mosquito, N237B, registered to an individual, crashed near Dunlap, Tennessee, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed and the commercial-rated pilot was fatally injured. The flight originated from Matthews Field, Dunlap, Tennessee, about 1318.
The pilots of three other gliders observed N237B, a glider, flying along a ridge about 400 to 500 feet above the trees. The glider appeared to be flying at a slow speed. The nose of the glider pitched up and the glider stalled and entered a spin. After 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 turns the glider impacted in the ground in a nose-down attitude.
Postcrash examination of the glider by an FAA inspector showed that all components of the glider were located on or around the main wreckage. Continuity of the flight control systems was established.
Post-mortem examination of the pilot was performed by Charles W. Harlan, M.D., Office of the State Medical Examiner, Nashville, Tennessee. The cause of death was attributed to multiple injuries. No findings that could be considered causal to the accident were noted. Post mortem toxicology testing on specimens obtained from the pilot was performed by Dr. Harlan. The tests were negative for ethanol alcohol and basic, acidic, and neutral drugs. For additional medical and pathological information see Supplement K and the toxicology report.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N237B
- Reported as
- Glasflugel Mosquito
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 53
- Airframe hours
- 1,072
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James W. Neffinger
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 28, 1995 · 31 hours before
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 771 total · 695 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CHA, 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.