- Date
- May 30, 2014, 18:00 local (May 31, 2014, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Enumclaw, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N77FZPzl-Swidnik PW 5
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20140530008019A
- Case key
- 89340
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 control of the glider during the landing flare which resulted in a stall and hard landing.
Findings · 2
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 pilot reported while entering the airport traffic pattern, the glider encountered additional lift and he was too high for landing. The pilot attempted to descend by deploying the spoilers and performing a couple of 360 degree turns, however the glider did not lose altitude so he initiated a slip to lose the altitude. Just prior to touchdown, as he aligned the glider to runway heading, it stalled and landed hard. During the landing roll, the right wing struck the ground and the glider ground looped. The glider sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the empennage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported while entering the airport traffic pattern, the glider encountered additional lift and he was too high for landing. The pilot attempted to descend by deploying the spoilers and performing a couple of 360 degree turns, however the glider did not lose altitude so he initiated a slip to lose the altitude. Just prior to touchdown, as he aligned the glider to runway heading, it stalled and landed hard. During the landing roll, the right wing struck the ground and the glider ground looped. The glider sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the empennage. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N77FZ
- Reported as
- Pzl-Swidnik PW 5 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 1711002
- Built
- 1998
- Airframe hours
- 877
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 14, 2014
- Departed
- WN76 · Enumclaw, WA
- Destination
- WN76 · Enumclaw, WA
- Airport
- WN76 · Bergseth Field, runway 10, 2,100 × 60 ft, dirt
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
- 44
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- September 8, 2013
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 22 total · 9 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PLU, 17 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 19, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 312 KB 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.