Schempp-Hirth Discus CS accident near Wurtsboro, NY
On January 28, 2001, a Schempp-Hirth Discus CS (glider) was involved in an accident near Wurtsboro, NY. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- January 28, 2001
- Place
- Wurtsboro, NY
- Aircraft
- Schempp-Hirth Discus CS · Glider
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.602°N, 74.452°W
- NTSB ID
- 20010212X00437
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 28, 2001, a Schempp-Hirth, Discus CS glider, N814CU, was substantially damaged while attempting to land at Wurtsboro Airport, Wurtsboro, New York. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight. No flight plan had been filed for the local flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to witnesses, the pilot had flown earlier in the day in a Schweizer 2-33 with a friend for about 1 1/2 hours. During the flight, he noticed that lenticular clouds were building and elected to fly his own glider next. He was towed aloft to 3,000 feet msl (2,500 feet agl), and released. He was next observed to return to the airport area after about 1 1/2 hours of flight. The pilot performed a high-speed pass down runway 23, and either touched the runway momentarily, or was very close to it. He then pulled up to about 500 feet agl, and entered a left crosswind, followed by a downwind for runway 23. The traffic pattern appeared normal to the observers. While on base leg, the glider was observed to enter a left turn prior to having reached a position from which the turn to final would normally have been made. The left turn increased in bank angle, the nose dropped and the glider disappeared from view. Some of the witnesses said the glider appeared slow and was in a nose up attitude. The bank angle was estimated to be in excess of 60 degrees, and the nose down attitude at least 45 degrees. One witness, an experienced glider pilot, thought the maneuver more closely resembled a steep spiral, rather t
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin while on base leg.
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Browse: New York · Schempp-Hirth aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
