Pzl Swidnik PW-5 N341PW

Summary

On 20 June 2005 at about 20:24 local time, a Pzl Swidnik PW-5 registered N341PW was involved in an accident near Bloomingburg, New York, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 June 2005 at 20:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Bloomingburg, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Wurtsboro County Airport (N82)

Coordinates

41.5264, -74.4789

Aircraft

Pzl Swidnik PW-5

Registration

N341PW

Category

Glider

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Blairstown → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD05CA081

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was participating in a competition between regional glider pilots. After approximately 2.5 hours of gliding, while heading towards Middletown, New York, the pilot stated that thermal lift began to decrease, so he decided to divert to a closer airport. About 4.1 nautical miles from the airport, his glide computer indicated an estimated arrival altitude of 350 feet agl. Over the next mile, lift continued to be lost and the glider descended about 300 feet, which forced the pilot to find an off airport location to land. The pilot set up a right hand traffic pattern to a hay field and when he made a right turn from the base leg of the traffic pattern to the final leg, the glider's "airspeed was low" and it subsequently "stalled and nosed down."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.