Amateur-built Scimitar accident near Alexandria, Pennsylvania, May 22, 2004
On May 22, 2004 at about 8:41 pm local time, a amateur-built Scimitar (glider), registered N12PX, was destroyed in an accident near Alexandria, Pennsylvania. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was the turbulent wind conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 22, 2004 · about 8:41 pm local time · cases in 2004
- Place
- Alexandria, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Scimitar
- Registration
- N12PX · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident pilot was attempting to fly over a ridge, in the fold in a ridgeline, during a national soaring competition. The glider descended about 1,400 feet in about 6 minutes, and 350 feet "in a very small space" before striking a large tree. According to a nationally known, locally based glider instructor, if the accident pilot had been successful in crossing the ridgeline, "he would have been the only pilot to do so, and probably would have easily won the day." The instructor also noted that as he retraced the accident flight in a motorglider, "I could not help believe I would have done the same thing in the same circumstances," and further observed that there was a good landing field at the base of the ridge, and the valley was wide enough to make shallow turns, but that the accident pilot probably "tried to fly a sharp 180-degree turn to return to the lifting air he just passed." The accident pilot had first flown from the instructor's airport in 1979, and was "an accomplished pilot" who had logged numerous cross country flights and international competitions. Winds aloft would have resulted in turbulence and downdrafts in the vicinity of the crash site.
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: 1,961 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (expired)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 24, 2003
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine:; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RVL Reedsville PA at 6:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.90 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from AOO, 15 miles away
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N12PX on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: · as the NTSB recorded it
- Mifflin County · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania 1,836 since 1982 · 234 in the last ten years
- Pennsylvania 6,195 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/IAD04LA022.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.