- Date
- May 23, 2026, 14:25 local (21:25 UTC)
- Place
- Soap Lake, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N157AJPzl-Swidnik PW-5
- Defining event
- Enroute: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 27, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20260523008239A
- Case key
- 203101
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 ensure the proper preflight assembly of the glider's wing attachment system, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing structure during flight.
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 pilot reported that he and three club members assembled the glider before the accidewnt flight, following the manufacturer's assembly procedures. After a preflight inspection and positive control check, the glider was towed and released. Approximately 10 minutes later, the pilot heard a sharp cracking sound and elected to return to the airport and land. A postflight examination revealed substantial damage to the wing spar root, wing, and fuselage. During disassembly of the glider following the accident, the assembly crew noted that the right main wing pin was in its halfway position and had not been secured. The left main wing pin was fully inserted and secured. They noted that the in-flight structural damage was likely due to the right main wing pin not being fully seated and secured during assembly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N157AJ
- Reported as
- Pzl-Swidnik PW-5
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 17.10.018
- Built
- 1998
- Airframe hours
- 951.2
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Puget Sound Soaring Association
- Registered owner
- Puget Sound Soaring Association
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 7, 2026
- Departed
- KEPH · Ephrata, WA
- Airport
- None · In flight about 5.5 mile north of EPH
- Equipment
- None
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
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Last flight review
- May 12, 2026
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 48 total · 18 in this make and model · 24 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 10 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.77 inHg
- Turbulence
- Light
- Observed at
- EPH, 5 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KEPH 232053Z AUTO 22010G19KT 10SM CLR 28/03 A2977 RMK AO2 SLP075 T02830033 58006=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 27, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.7 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.