Indianapolis Terry Airpor Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Indianapolis, Indiana 46201
Sunday, July 12, 1998 11:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The instructor stated that when they turned base to final they were approximately 250' above ground level (agl). The CFI told the student to use 'Full' spoilers to bring the aircraft back on a normal glide path to the runway. The CFI stated that at approximately 100' agl the student had 'Full' spoilers deployed and had an excessive nose down attitude. The CFI told the student 'Close' the spoilers and bring the nose up to reduce the excessive airspeed. The CFI stated that the student began to bring the nose up, without closing the spoilers, and that he took control of the aircraft at this point. The CFI closed the spoilers completely but the aircraft was already entering a stall. The CFI stated that he reduced the angle of attack in order to regain airspeed and then flared close to the ground. The CFI stated that the aircraft 'Pancaked-in, a landing hard enough to throw me into the shoulder straps and my head down so that briefly I could not see outside.' The aircraft drifted to right side of the runway and the right wing impacted a runway light before coming to a stop.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the delayed in-flight decision of the pilot in command to take control of the aircraft and the proper airspeed not obtained/maintained by the pilot in command which resulted in a stall. A factor to the accident was the runway light.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/12/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City INDIANAPOLIS
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46201
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport INDIANAPOLIS TERRY AIRPOR
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TYQ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 922
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1056 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 7
Weather Observation Facility ID IND
Elevation of weather observation facility 795
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1738
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 503
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 22 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1848
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:55AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N17901
NTSB Number CHI98LA268
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Schweizer
Aircraft Model SGS 2-33A
Aircraft Series Identifier SGS 2-33A
Aircraft Serial Number 291
Certified Max Gross Weight 1040
Aircraft Category Glider
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 3 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 28
Airframe Hours 3718
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CENTRAL INDIANA SOARING SOCIET
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8802 BASH STREET
Aircraft Owner City INDIANAPOLIS
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46256
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code I52
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1055
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --