Summary
On October 03, 1993, a Swift S-1 (N818AW) was involved in an incident near Blairstown, NJ. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor is wind gust and the pilot's inexperience in type aircraft.
On Sunday, October 3, 1993, about 1630 eastern daylight time, a Swift S-1, N818AW, a glider, owned and piloted by Walter Parrasch, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees while maneuvering 5 miles north of the Blairstown Airport, Blairstown, New Jersey. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan had not been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91.
This was the pilots first flight in the Polish built experimental glider. The flight was along the east side of a ridge line. In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2 the pilot stated:
"...[I] was flying over the ridge at approximately 300 feet above the ridge. The wind was a quartering downwind.
This incident is documented in NTSB report NYC94LA005. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N818AW.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor is wind gust and the pilot's inexperience in type aircraft.
Aircraft Information
Analysis
On Sunday, October 3, 1993, about 1630 eastern daylight time, a Swift S-1, N818AW, a glider, owned and piloted by Walter Parrasch, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees while maneuvering 5 miles north of the Blairstown Airport, Blairstown, New Jersey. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan had not been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91.
This was the pilots first flight in the Polish built experimental glider. The flight was along the east side of a ridge line. In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2 the pilot stated:
"...[I] was flying over the ridge at approximately 300 feet above the ridge. The wind was a quartering downwind. I...encountered a wind gust which dropped my right wing and...my airspeed dropped ...The glider started to spin and there was no control of the glider at this point. Seconds later it went straight down to the trees..."
The winds on the day of the accident were reported to be from 300 degrees at 15, gusting to 25 miles per hour. The ridge line runs in an approximate direction of 060/240 degrees.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# NYC94LA005