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).
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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 October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 22, 2004 · about 8:41 pm local time
- 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 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number IAD04LA022.