Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Vansant Arpt Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Erwinna, Pennsylvania 18920
Saturday, May 4, 2013 10:50 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The glider pilot intended to practice stalls after being towed to an altitude of 3,000 feet mean sea level. Shortly after takeoff, the tow pilot observed the glider yaw left, then right, and then left again. He added that, for most of the tow, the glider appeared to be above the normal tow position with its nose pointed 45 degrees right. About 400 feet above ground level, the glider pilot released the tow line, and the glider turned about 180 degrees left; its right wing then impacted trees, and the glider pitched down and impacted terrain. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the rudder control cables were rigged backward. The accident flight was the first flight following the glider’s most recent annual inspection. Before the annual inspection, the rudder had been removed for repair then re-installed. The mechanic who conducted a flight control check after the annual inspection with assistance from another pilot seated in the cockpit stated that he confirmed movement of the rudder while at the rear of the glider; however, he did not see which pedal the pilot was pushing and did not verbally confirm the corresponding position of the rudder pedals. If the pilot had conducted a thorough preflight inspection, he should have been able to detect that the rudder control cables were rigged backward.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s loss of glider control due to improper rigging of the rudder control cables, the mechanic’s inadequate flight control checks following the glider’s most recent annual inspection, and the pilot’s failure to perform a thorough preflight inspection.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/4/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1050 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Erwinna |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 18920 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 402902N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0750559W |
| Event Location Airport | Vansant Arpt |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 9N1 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 390 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1154 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 185 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DYL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 394 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.28 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KDYL 041554Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM CLR 17/07 A30 |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 32422 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 5 2014 10:59AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2045T |
| NTSB Number | ERA13LA229 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | SCHWEIZER |
| Aircraft Model | SGS 2-33A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 475 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1040 |
| Aircraft Category | Glider |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 1 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 0 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 15 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 13624 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CIVIL AIR PATROL |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | MAXWELL AFB |
| Aircraft Owner State | AL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 36112-5937 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | CIVIL AIR PATROL |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | MAXWELL AFB |
| Operator State | AL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 36112-5937 |
| 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) | Flight Test |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 9N1 |
| Departure City | Erwinna |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1050 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 9N1 |
| Destination City | Erwinna |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 5 2014 10:59AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 07 |
| Runway Length | 3058 |
| Runway Width | 120 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |