Schleicher ASW-19B accident near Griffin, Georgia, September 13, 1986
On September 13, 1986 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Schleicher ASW-19B (glider), registered N15FW, was destroyed in an accident near Griffin, Georgia (Spalding County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 13, 1986 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Griffin, Georgia · Spalding County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schleicher ASW-19B · all ASW-19Bs on the register
- Registration
- N15FW · no longer on the register · serial 19406
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE GLIDER DEPARTED ON AN AERIAL TOW AND WAS RELEASED AT 1700' AGL. INTENTION OF THE FLT WAS AN OUT AND BACK X-COUNTRY. DURING THE FLT THE PLT COULD NOT FIND LIFT AND RADIOED A FRIEND, ALSO IN A GLIDER, THAT HE INTENDED TO LAND AT A SOD STRIP. THE PLT STATED THAT THE LAST THING HE CLEARLY REMEMBERS WAS BEING JUST NORTH OF GRIFFIN. HE DID REMEMBER COMING OVER THE INTENDED LANDING STRIP AND SEEING POWER LINES AND TREES AT ONE END AND TREES ON THE OTHER. HE STATED HE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS DISTRACTED FROM HIS NORMAL APCH PROCEDURES AND ALLOWED THE ACFT TO STALL AND ENTER A SPIN.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,444 hours in all; 140 in this make and model; 52 in the last 90 days; 1,430 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 198 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 15, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 700 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3GA7 Williamson GA at 4:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 135° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.