Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Philadelphia Gliderport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Hilltown, Pennsylvania 18927
Saturday, August 10, 2002 13:50 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The glider was being towed by an airplane for takeoff, when it was observed to bounce hard on the runway twice, then it assumed a steep nose up attitude. The tow rope broke, and the glider impacted the ground in a near vertical descent. The C-hook on the stabilator push rod, was found in front of, and not connected to the roller bearing on the stabilator. The pilot's flight experience was over 3,000 hours with about 84 hours in gliders. He had accumulated 28 hours in the accident glider, including 17 flights. This was the first glider the pilot had operated, that he was required to disassemble for storage and reassemble for flight. Witnesses reported the pilot experienced difficulty with the assembly process. A view window was located on top of the stabilator to check for proper engagement of the C-hook, and the AFTER ASSEMBLY checklist called for it to be used to check for proper assembly. A witness reported the pilot moved the control stick in the cockpit and observed movement of the flight controls, but he was not observed to actually check the view window for proper assembly. A check of another glider of the same make and model found it was possible to lock the stabilator in place on top of the vertical stabilizer, with the C-hook in the same place as found on the accident glider. In this configuration, the control rod that held the C-hook was pressed against the roller bearing and held in place by friction. However, the incorrect assembly was visible through the view window on top of the stabilator, and when the stabilator was held in place, it was still possible to move the cockpit control stick abut 1 inch forward or aft, with no corresponding movement on the stabilator.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper pre-flight, and failure to follow procedures in the flight manual to determine that the stabilator was properly connected prior to flight, and which resulted in a loss of control while under tow, and uncontrolled impact with the ground.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/10/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1350 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Hilltown |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 18927 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 401945N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0751500W |
| Event Location Airport | Philadelphia Gliderport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 0PA0 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 670 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1355 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 155 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | NXX |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 362 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 9 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.18 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14644 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern Region Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 10 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1430 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 30 2003 8:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Allentown, Pennsylvania |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N47SS |
| NTSB Number | NYC02FA159 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Schempp-Hirth |
| Aircraft Model | Standard Cirrus |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 278 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 728 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 16 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 8 |
| Airframe Hours | 860 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | John D. Carlson |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Princeton |
| Aircraft Owner State | NJ |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 08540 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 0PA0 |
| Departure City | Hilltown |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1350 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 0PA0 |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 9 2003 12:18PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 25 |
| Runway Length | 2450 |
| Runway Width | 300 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |