- Date
- May 19, 1996, 12:40 local (16:40 UTC)
- Place
- Bloomingburg, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N65847Schweizer SGS-2-33A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 15, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960519010849A
- Case key
- 39185
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 adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall spin and collision with trees.
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 reported that he was ridge soaring, when he encountered a wind gust, and the glider drifted over the crest of a ridge. He tried to return to the windward side of the ridge; however, he encountered a wind shear, the glider stalled, and then it entered a spin. The pilot recovered from the spin at a low altitude and flew into an area of scrub oaks in a nose down attitude. The pilot reported: 'Flying faster could have avoided the stall....'
Factual narrative
On May 19, 1996, at 1240 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer SGS-2-33A, a glider, struck trees while ridge soaring near Bloomingburg, New York. The glider received minor damage. The commercial pilot received minor injuries, and the passenger received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated at Wurtsboro Airport, Wurtsboro, New York. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot had been ridge soaring prior to the accident. In the NTSB Accident Report, he stated:
"...We worked our way in both directions within the area of the airport along the windward side of the ridge. The wind was from 300 [degrees] at 18 kts. with gusts to 25 kts. While working a thermal at 1300 feet AGL at a 45 MPH best thermaling air speed, the wind had pushed the glider to the top of the ridge which has an elevation of 1,000 ft. I continued the right turn with the intention of leaving the area as soon as I could attain a westerly heading when we encountered a strong wind sheer which stalled the glider while still in the turn. Pushed forward on the control stick but there was not enough room to recover and the glider landed in a forest of scrub oak at the top of the ridge...."
A witness at the airport reported seeing the glider above a ridge line to the east of the airport. The glider then entered a spin of about 1 1/2 rotations and disappeared behind the ridge line.
In the Recommendation section of the NTSB Accident Report, the pilot stated:
"Flying faster could have avoided the stall...."
The pilot reported that his total time was 554 hours with 200 hours in gliders. In the preceding 90 days, he had flown 1.2 hours in gliders.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N65847
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS-2-33A
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 337
- Airframe hours
- 7,781
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wurtsboro Flight Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 29, 1996 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- N82 · Wurtsboro, NY
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- 60
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 554 total · 159 in this make and model · 377 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSV, 19 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.