- Date
- July 5, 1996, 13:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Marston Mills, MA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N603MXSchweizer SGS 1-26E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 29, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960705016429A
- Case key
- 39208
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
failure of the pilot to maintain control of the glider while being towed during takeoff, which resulted in a pitch oscillation, failure of the tow cable, loss of airspeed, an inadvertent stall/spin, and an uncontrolled collision with the ground.
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
Several witnesses observed the glider as it was being towed during takeoff. They reported that after becoming airborne, it pitched up, down, and up again, in excess of 45 degrees, then the tow rope broke. The glider then entered a right turn and rolled into a 1-1/2 turn spin to the right. Subsequenlty, the glider impacted in a grassy area next to parked airplanes on the airport. The pilot was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day. No evidence of a preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction was found, and flight control continuity was confirmed.
Factual narrative
On July 5, 1995, about 1315 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer 1-26E glider, N603MX, struck the ground after takeoff from the Marston Mills Airport, Marston Mills, Massachusetts. The private pilot was fatally injured, and the glider was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight which was operated under 14 CFR Part 91, and had departed less than one minute before.
The FAA reported that the accident flight was the second glider flight that day for the pilot, who had flown about 20 minutes on an earlier flight. Several witnesses observed the glider which was under tow, and then pitched up, down, and then up in excess of 45 degrees, at which time the tow rope broke. The glider then entered a right turn, and then entered a right spin of about 1 1/2 turns prior to impacting the ground, next to parked airplanes. The pilot was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on the following day.
The pilot did not possess a FAA Airman Medical Certificate, nor was he required to possess one.
The glider was examined by an FAA Airworthiness Inspector who reported, "...The tail flight control surfaces have continuity between the flight control attachments and the linkage/bellcrank, under the pilot's floor boards...."
According to the Medical Examiner's Office, State of Massachusetts, a post-mortem examination of pilot did not disclose evidence of an incapacitating medical condition.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N603MX
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS 1-26E
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 603
- Airframe hours
- 864
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Buzzard Bay Buzzards
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 27, 1996 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- 2B1
- Airport
- 2B1 · Marston Mills, runway 27, 2,700 × 75 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
- 75
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 500 total · 41 in this make and model · 7 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HYA, 8 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.