Schempp-Hirth DISCUS CS N814CU

Summary

On 28 January 2001 at about 20:00 local time, a Schempp-Hirth DISCUS CS registered N814CU was involved in an accident near Wurtsboro, New York, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 January 2001 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wurtsboro, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Wurtsboro (N82)

Coordinates

41.6022, -74.4522

Aircraft

Schempp-Hirth DISCUS CS

Registration

N814CU

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wurtsboro → Wurtsboro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC01FA071

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin while on base leg.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses reported the glider was on a left base leg to land, in a nose high attitude. Prior to reaching the point where the pilot would normally have turned to final, the glider entered a left turn. During the turn, the angle of bank increased to at least 60 degrees and the nose dropped to about 45 degrees down. The glider impacted the ground nose down, in a descending left turn. No evidence of a pre-existing failure or malfunction was found with the airframe. Bends found in the pushrods of the left wing spoiler and aileron were consistent with the ailerons displaced for a right bank, at the time of impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.