Schweizer SGU-2-22E accident near Benton, Tennessee, October 15, 1988
On October 15, 1988 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Schweizer SGU-2-22E (glider), registered N9847E, was destroyed in an accident near Benton, Tennessee. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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
- October 15, 1988 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Benton, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGU-2-22E · all SGU-2-22Es on the register
- Registration
- N9847E · no longer on the register · serial 228
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AS THE STUDENT PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING A DUAL AERIAL TOW FLIGHT AT 100 FEET AGL, HE EXPERIENCED DIFFICULTY IN STAYING BEHIND THE TOW PLANE. THE INSTRUCTOR TOOK OVER THE CONTROLS AND WHILE APPLYING FULL RIGHT AILERON NOTED NO AILERON MOVEMENT. AT 300 FEET AGL THE STUDENT RELEASED THE GLIDER FROM THE TOW PLANE. THE INSTRUCTOR SUBSEQUENTLY STALLED THE AIRCRAFT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND IN AN OPEN FIELD AND SETTLED INTO TREES. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT DISCLOSED THAT THE PINS CONNECTING THE AILERONS AND PILOT CONTROLS WERE NOT INSTALLED. THEY WERE NOT LOCATED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE NOR IN THE STAGING AREA. THE INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT HE HAD FLOWN THIS AIRCRAFT 3 TIMES EARLIER THAT DAY.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 26 in this make and model; 16,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 919 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 18, 1988; 86 hours since
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 92A Benton TN at 5:27 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.