Crash location | 36.860278°N, 76.692500°W |
Nearest city | Windsor, VA
36.808483°N, 76.744125°W 4.6 miles away |
Tail number | N33964 |
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Accident date | 25 Sep 2005 |
Aircraft type | Schweizer SGS-2-33A |
Additional details: | None |
The student pilot of a Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider was on her first solo flight. The pilot released the glider from the tow plane about 3000 feet mean sea level, and upon returning to the gliderport, descended below traffic pattern altitude because she "misread her altimeter." According to witnesses, the glider appeared "very low" on the base leg. The pilot overflew the runway approach path, turned "too sharply" to align with the runway centerline, and "[the glider] fell out of the sky." The glider overflew the runway and struck a hangar wall, a tent support post, and came to rest on top of two ground support vehicles. The pilot reported that there were no deficiencies with the performance and handling of the glider.
The solo student pilot's loss of control during landing.