Masak SCIMITAR N12PX
22 May 2004 · Alexandria, Pennsylvania, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 22 May 2004 at about 20:41 local time, a Masak SCIMITAR registered N12PX was involved in an accident near Alexandria, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 20:41
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Alexandria, Pennsylvania, United States
- Coordinates
- 40.4989, -78.1414
- Aircraft
- Masak SCIMITAR
- Registration
- N12PX
- Category
- Glider
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Reedsville → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- IAD04LA022
People
1 person died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was the turbulent wind conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The accident pilot was attempting to fly over a ridge, in the fold in a ridgeline, during a national soaring competition. The glider descended about 1,400 feet in about 6 minutes, and 350 feet "in a very small space" before striking a large tree. According to a nationally known, locally based glider instructor, if the accident pilot had been successful in crossing the ridgeline, "he would have been the only pilot to do so, and probably would have easily won the day." The instructor also noted that as he retraced the accident flight in a motorglider, "I could not help believe I would have done the same thing in the same circumstances," and further observed that there was a good landing field at the base of the ridge, and the valley was wide enough to make shallow turns, but that the accident pilot probably "tried to fly a sharp 180-degree turn to return to the lifting air he just passed." The accident pilot had first flown from the instructor's airport in 1979, and was "an accomplished pilot" who had logged numerous cross country flights and international competitions. Winds aloft would have resulted in turbulence and downdrafts in the vicinity of the crash site.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Masak SCIMITAR accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 1998 | Masak SCIMITAR | Hardscrabble, Virginia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Mar 2004 | Cessna 172P | Zelienople, Pennsylvania, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 25 Aug 2004 | Cameron Balloons Z-90 | Dover, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 28 Mar 2004 | Cessna 182T | Perkasie, Pennsylvania, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 8 Aug 2004 | Cessna 172P | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States | Century Flight Academy | No injuries | - |
| 23 Oct 2004 | Piper PA-28-140 | Lehighton, Pennsylvania, United States | Ace Pilot Training | No injuries | - |
| 3 Aug 2004 | Piper PA-24-180 | Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, United States | - | No injuries | - |