- Date
- April 25, 2010, 17:00 local (Apr 26, 2010, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Marana, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N500JNPZL-Swidnik PW-5
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Electrical system malf/failure
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 12, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100425032989A
- Case key
- 75839
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 inability to find thermal lift. Contributing to the accident was the failure of a computer that provided glide information and vertical speed instrumentation as a result of an improperly routed electrical cable that caused a short in the electrical system and the pilot's lack of experience in the glider.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The glider pilot had been checked out in the glider the day of the accident and it was the first time she had flown this make and model. Approximately two hours into the flight, she smelled a burning rubber smell before all of the electronics ceased operating. She turned back to her departure airport, but due to her lack of experience she was unable to find a thermal and the glider continued to descend. During the forced off-field landing, the glider impacted trees and desert brush. Postaccident examination of the glider revealed that the cable supplying power to the removable data logger was routed improperly and had rubbed against a metal computer port, causing an electrical short and disabling the glide computer, global positioning system, and the vertical speed indicator.
Factual narrative
The glider pilot had been checked out in the glider the day of the accident and it was the first time she had flown this make and model. Approximately two hours into the flight, she smelled a rubber burning smell and all of her electronics ceased operating. She initiated a turn back to her departure airport but due to her lack of experience, she was unable to find a thermal and the glider continued to descend. During the forced, off-field landing, the glider impacted trees and desert brush. Post accident examination of the glider revealed that the cable supplying power to the removable data logger was found pinched against a metal computer port. This resulted in an electrical short and disabled the glide computer, global positioning system, and the vertical speed indicator.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N500JN
- Reported as
- PZL-Swidnik PW-5
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 1706010
- Airframe hours
- 1,834
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Tucson Soaring Club Inc
- Registered owner
- Tucson Soaring Club Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · January 10, 2010
- Departed
- AZ67 · El Tiro, AZ
- Destination
- AZ67 · El Tiro, AZ
- 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
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- September 2, 2009
- Flight hours
- 62 total · 2 in this make and model · 24 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 7 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- RYN, 20 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 17, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.