- Date
- May 6, 2001, 09:47 local (13:47 UTC)
- Place
- Tinicum Twnshp., PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3620YSchweitzer 136
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 7, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20010506010089A
- Case key
- 52171
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 improper decision to delay his landing. A factor related to the accident was the loss of thermal lift.
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
According to the pilot, this was his first flight in the make and model glider. The pilot soared the glider at 3,000 feet in the local area for about three hours. As the thermal lift began to dissipate, the glider began to descend. Realizing that he was at a low altitude and would not make it back to the airport, the pilot elected to make an off field landing. While maneuvering for the off field landing, the airplane struck a 5-foot high tree.
Factual narrative
On May 6, 2001, about 0947 eastern daylight time, a Schweitzer 136, N3620Y, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, this was his first flight in the make and model glider. About 0630, he was towed from the Erwinna Airport, Vansant, Pennsylvania, to an altitude of 3,000 feet. The pilot soared the glider in the local area for about 3 hours, until the thermal lift began to dissipate, and the glider descended. Realizing that he was at a low altitude and would not make it back to the airport, the pilot elected to make an off field landing. While maneuvering for the off field landing, the pilot observed an airstrip located in a nearby apple orchard and entered the traffic pattern for landing. As the pilot turned the glider from a base leg to final approach, he thought the airspeed was to low, and a stall was imminent. The pilot leveled the wings and the left wing impacted a 5-foot high apple tree. The glider spun 180 degrees, impacted the ground, and came to rest along side an apple tree.
The weather at a nearby airport, at 0855 was, winds from 060 at 13 knots, clear skies, and temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3620Y
- Reported as
- Schweitzer 136
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 34
- Airframe hours
- 661
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Soaring Tigers
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 3, 2001 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- 9N1 · Vanzant, PA
- Airport
- 59PA · Erkes Airport, runway 1, 1,400 × 80 ft, grass/turf
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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- September 7, 2000
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 206 total · 3 in this make and model · 102 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.43 inHg
- Observed at
- PNE, 120 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 N3620Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.