Schweizer SGS 1-26B N5768S

Summary

On 7 August 2001 at about 20:30 local time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26B registered N5768S was involved in an accident near Rock Island, Washington, 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

7 August 2001 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Rock Island, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Pangborn Memorial (EAT)

Coordinates

47.3102, -120.0809

Aircraft

Schweizer SGS 1-26B

Registration

N5768S

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wenatchee → Ephrata

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA01LA147

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's improper inflight planning and decision (delay in establishing an approach to a suitable landing area) and his subsequent failure to attain the proper glidepath for the selected landing area, resulting in an overshoot of the selected landing area and collison with trees during landing. Factors included the pilot's lack of experience, and trees in the vicinity of the landing site.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident flight was intended to be a solo cross-country instructional glider flight over a distance of about 29 nautical miles. The flight instructor stated that he instructed the student to climb to at least 6,000 feet above sea level (4,751 feet above the departure airport and 4,724 feet above the destination airport) prior to leaving the local area. The glider had a maximum lift-to-drag ratio of 23. The instructor reported that when the student failed to find lift, and after waiting until too low to return to the departure airport, he delayed selecting a safe landing site until only one option remained. The student's approach was high and was made with a tail wind. The glider overshot its intended landing area, a 400-foot-long open field, and landed between trees near a cherry orchard approximately 2 miles from the departure airport, sustaining substantial damage in the landing. The flight instructor reported that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved in the accident. The student pilot's certificate was issued about 1 1/2 months before the accident, and the student pilot's flight instructor reported that the student had 30 hours total pilot time including 8 hours in the accident make and model.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.