Sportavia Putzer RF-5B N55GS

Summary

On 1 April 2000 at about 20:00 local time, a Sportavia Putzer RF-5B registered N55GS was involved in an accident near Gillespie, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 April 2000 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Gillespie, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

40.1004, -79.8309

Aircraft

Sportavia Putzer RF-5B

Registration

N55GS

Category

Glider

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Monongahela → Oakland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC00LA108

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper weather evaluation, resulting in a tailwind departure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While at an altitude of 2,500 feet, the pilot opted to change the propeller pitch from climb to cruise. While doing so, the pilot noticed a sudden power loss, and the engine shut off. The pilot attempted to restart the engine with no success and performed a forced landing to a farm field. During the landing an outrigger rod broke. The pilot also observed the engine ignition switch in the off position, 'indicating the possibility that I had inadvertently touched it while operating the mechanical lever for the [propeller] pitch change.' The pilot replaced the outrigger rod and attempted a takeoff from the field. After liftoff, the pilot noticed that the motorglider began to drift to the right, and struck a small tree located on the edge of the field. The motorglider veered further to the right, touched down on the ground, struck two embankments lined with fence posts, and came to rest in an adjacent farm field. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane departed the field on a heading of about 080 degrees. The winds reported by an airport 20 miles to the northwest were from 210 degrees at 10 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.