Schweizer SGS 2-33A N5787S
2 December 2012 · Middletown, New York, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 2 December 2012 at about 19:54 local time, a Schweizer SGS 2-33A registered N5787S, operated by Valley Soaring Club Inc, was involved in an accident near Middletown, New York, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 19:54
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Middletown, New York, United States
- Nearest airport
- Randall Airport (06N)
- Coordinates
- 41.4256, -74.3883
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 2-33A
- Registration
- N5787S
- Category
- Glider
- Operator
- Valley Soaring Club Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Middletown → Middletown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA13CA077
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's improper altitude management in the landing pattern that caused the glider to impact trees on final approach.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to the student pilot, while on the downwind leg to runway 26, he "knew that he was too high" for a normal approach. He deployed the spoilers to full and extended the downwind leg to lose altitude. While turning onto base leg for final approach, he retracted the spoilers to one half thinking that he was still too high in the turn. The pilot stated that he flew into a pocket of air that caused the glider to sink. The pilot realized that he was going to be "quite" low and stated that he retracted the spoilers all the way in. While turning on to final approach, he clipped a tree with the left wing and the glider spun around to the left and came to rest in a tree, 25 feet above the ground. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the left and right wing leading edges incurred substantial damage due to impact with trees. Both spoilers were found in the full extended position. The student pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Schweizer SGS-2 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Nov 2012 | Schweizer SGS 2-32 | Boulder, Colorado, United States | Soaring Society of Boulder Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 28 Jan 2012 | Schweizer SGS 2-33A | Peoria, Arizona, United States | Pleasant Valley Soaring LLC | Minor injuries | - |
| 27 Apr 2013 | Schweizer SGS 2-32 | Shirley, New York, United States | Long Island Soaring Assoc Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 28 Aug 2011 | Schweizer SGS 2-32 | Warner Springs, California, United States | Sky Sailing Inc | Serious injuries | - |
| 4 May 2013 | Schweizer SGS 2-33A | Erwinna, Pennsylvania, United States | Civil Air Patrol | Serious injuries | - |
| 4 Aug 2013 | Schweizer SGS 2-33A | Erwinna, Pennsylvania, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Aug 2012 | Socata TB 10 | Shirley, New York, United States | McElroy David J | Fatal | 2 |
| 20 Apr 2012 | Beechcraft A36 | Yorktown, New York, United States | Ehrenzeller Mark | Minor injuries | - |
| 18 Aug 2012 | Fleet FLEET 16B | Bayport, New York, United States | Martin Stephen S | No injuries | - |
| 16 Jul 2012 | Cessna T206H | Glens Falls, New York, United States | JM Aviation Holding LLC | Minor injuries | - |
| 25 Aug 2012 | Schleicher ASW-19 | Dansville, New York, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 29 Apr 2012 | Piper PA-18-150 | Eaton, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |