Schweizer SGS 1-26E N2685H

Summary

On 3 February 2001 at about 11:50 local time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26E registered N2685H was involved in an accident near Lake Elsinore, California, 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

3 February 2001 at 11:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Elsinore, California, United States

Nearest airport

Skylark (CA89)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Schweizer SGS 1-26E

Registration

N2685H

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Elsinore → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

NTSB number

LAX01LA091

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the glider pilot to maintain adequate airspeed during a turn from base leg to final approach, which lead to a stall and spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student glider pilot had 25 hours total experience. This was his second flight of the day but his first ever in a single-place glider. He reported the flight was normal until the point where he returned for landing and was entering the landing traffic pattern. "[F]or some reason unknown to me, the glider went into a spin." He recovered from the spin about 200 - 300 feet below normal pattern altitude. He acknowledged that he should have adjusted his pattern to account for the loss of altitude but instead attempted to fly a normal pattern. As the aircraft approached the turning point from base leg to final approach, "I should have continued flying straight ahead, but I attempted to turn anyway. I was going too slow and was much too low to make a turn." The glider entered a spin a second time and impacted the ground. The pilot acknowledged having heard his instructor's instruction over the radio telling him to land straight ahead and not attempt the turn to final approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.