Pdps Pzl-Bielsko SZD-55-1 N55VW

Summary

On 12 August 2001 at about 22:45 local time, a Pdps Pzl-Bielsko SZD-55-1 registered N55VW was involved in an accident near Uvalde, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 August 2001 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Uvalde, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Uvalde Garner Field (UVA)

Coordinates

29.2225, -99.7511

Aircraft

Pdps Pzl-Bielsko SZD-55-1

Registration

N55VW

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Uvalde → Uvalde

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01LA179

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the base turn, which resulted in an inadvertant stall/spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was completing the third leg of a soaring 300 km triangle. The glider owner, who was in contact with the pilot via radio, reported that the pilot stated he had the field in sight approximately 8 miles from the airport. The glider entered the traffic pattern for runway 15 and was turning base when the owner observed it enter a spin. A witness reported that the glider banked, "appeared to have stalled, and spiraled counter-clockwise" in a nose low attitude into the ground. Another witness, located approximately a block from the accident site, stated that she "looked up and saw the glider spinning counter clockwise very fast and falling nose first." The glider impacted the ground and came to rest approximately 1/4 mile from the approach end of runway. The pilot had accumulated approximately 270 total glider flight hours and 5 flight hours in the same make and model as the accident aircraft. No pre-impact anomalies were noted with the glider during the examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.