NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 27, 2013, about 1130 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer SGS 2-32 glider, N9857E, operated by the Long Island Soaring Association (LISA), was substantially damaged when it impacted a road, following a loss of control in flight during approach to Brookhaven Airport (HWV), Shirley, New York. The private pilot was fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed HWV about 1115.

The glider was based at HWV and according to a LISA flight instructor, just prior to the accident flight; he completed an uneventful "checkout" flight with the accident pilot in the accident glider. The checkout flight with the accident pilot was required by LISA club rules for any pilot that had not flown the make and model glider within the previous 6 months. The flight instructor further stated that the checkout flight went well and the accident pilot performed maneuvers such as stalls and steep turns. The flight instructor was particularly impressed with the accident pilot's landing as the accident glider was the most difficult to land of LISA's gliders as it did not require any flare and was basically flown onto the runway. The flight instructor added that he did not note any deficiencies with the accident pilot during the checkout flight.

The tow airplane pilot was taxiing on the ground at the time of the accident and the flight instructor was sitting outside at a staging area. The tow airplane pilot reported that during the accident flight, the glider seemed to fly a normal traffic pattern and approach to runway 33. The glider was on final approach, about 250 feet above ground level (agl) with its dive brakes half-deployed, which was normal. The left wing then suddenly dropped and the glider descended to the ground. The flight instructor reported that everything looked normal when the glider was on final approach; however, one of its wings suddenly dropped, consistent with a stall. A third witness, who was also a pilot, reported that a white glider with orange trim caught his attention due to its low altitude. Specifically, the glider was at or below 500 feet agl, which in his opinion was low if it was going fly a right downwind, base, and final leg of the traffic pattern to runway 33. The glider then disappeared behind trees and the witness did not see the impact.

PILOT INFORMATION

The pilot, age 74, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and glider. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on May 2, 2011. Review of the pilot's logbook and glider pilot logbook revealed that he had accumulated a total flight experience of approximately 1,067 hours; of which, 961 hours were in airplanes and 106 hours were in gliders. The pilot flew about 13 hours and 8 hours during the 90-day and 30-day period preceding the accident, respectively. Those hours were all flown in airplanes and his most recent glider flight, prior to the day of the accident, was completed on September 22, 2012. Additionally, the pilot had flown the accident glider on and off for about 10 years, and had accumulated approximately 43 flights during that time, totaling about 14 hours. His most recent flight in the accident glider, prior to the day of the accident, was completed on July 3, 2011.

The pilot received his first FAA medical certificate in 2001 and reported a history of treated hypertension, with supplied information from his primary physician. He continued to report controlled hypertension throughout his medical certificate applications, including the most recent one.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The two-seat tandem, all-metal glider, serial number 24, was manufactured in 1965. It's most recent annual inspection was completed on January 3, 2013. At that time, the glider had accumulated 3,647.3 total flight hours.

WRECKAGE INFORMATION

The glider impacted an access road to an abandoned New York State Department of Transportation lot, about 1/2 mile prior to the runway 33 threshold at HWV. The glider came to rest upright, on a magnetic heading of 120 degrees, with its empennage suspended in trees and the cockpit resting on the road. No debris path or damage to nearby trees was observed. The forward cockpit area was crushed; however, the instrument panel remained intact. The glider was not equipped with a transponder or global positioning system receiver. A handheld radio was recovered from the cockpit and no distress calls were heard from the pilot on the common traffic advisory frequency. The pilot's seatbelt and shoulder harness remained intact and were removed by rescue personnel.

The outboard one-third of both wings was partially separated. The wing dive brakes were found extended, but their preimpact position could not be determined. The empennage remained intact and undamaged. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the elevator, elevator trim tab, and rudder, via their respective cables, to the cockpit controls. The elevator trim tab was found deflected in the full up position, consistent with impact damage. Continuity was also confirmed from the left wing aileron, right wing aileron, and right wing dive brake, via their respective push-pull tubes, to the cockpit controls. The left wing dive brake push-pull tubes had separated near the wing root, consistent with impact damage.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

An autopsy was performed on the pilot by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office, Hauppauge, New York, on April 28, 2013. The cause of death was noted as multiple blunt force injuries. The autopsy also identified that the heart weighed 385 grams, which was normal for a man of his height. The autopsy report noted insignificant coronary artery stenosis (20-30%), and very mild damage to the kidneys from hypertension.

Toxicological testing was performed on the pilot by the FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Review of the toxicological report revealed:

"0.056 (ug/ml, ug/g) Diphenhydramine detected in Blood

Diphenhydramine detected in Urine

Losartan detected in Urine

Losartan detected in Blood"

Toxicological testing performed by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner also found diphenhydramine (0.11 ug/ml) in the blood. Diphenhydramine is a sedating antihistamine and sleep aid marketed under the trade names Benadryl and Unisom. The therapeutic range is considered 0.025 to 0.112 ug/ml according to the FAA Civil Aeronautical Institute.

Diphenhydramine carries the following Food and Drug Administration warning: may impair mental and/or physical ability required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks (e.g., driving, operating heavy machinery). Compared to other antihistamines, diphenhydramine causes marked sedation; it is also classed as a CNS depressant and this is the rationale for its use as a sleep aid. Altered mood and impaired cognitive and psychomotor performance can also be observed. In fact, in a driving simulator study, a single dose of diphenhydramine impaired driving ability more than a blood alcohol concentration of 0.100% (for more information, see Medical Records Factual Report in the NTSB public docket).

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed during final approach, which resulted in a stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s likely impairment due to an over-the-counter sedating antihistamine.