Schweizer SGU 2 22E accident near Belden, Ohio, May 16, 1982
On May 16, 1982 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Schweizer SGU 2 22E (glider), registered N2732Z, was destroyed in an accident near Belden, Ohio (Belden airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 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
- May 16, 1982 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Belden, Ohio · Belden · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGU 2 22E · all SGU 2 22Es on the register
- Registration
- N2732Z · no longer on the register · serial 191
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING DUAL FLIGHT IN A GLIDER PRACTICING STALLS THE PILOT RECOVERED AT A LOW ALTITUDE AND COLLIDED WITH WIRES.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,184 hours in all; 53 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 4,034 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,862 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Belden OH at 11:50 am
- Destination: Belden OH
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 2,650 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 045° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 156°F (69°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.