Amateur-built PW-5 accident near Bloomingburg, New York, June 20, 2005
On June 20, 2005 at about 8:24 pm local time, a amateur-built PW-5 (glider), registered N341PW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bloomingburg, New York (Wurtsboro 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 pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent impact with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 20, 2005 · about 8:24 pm local time
- Place
- Bloomingburg, New York · Wurtsboro County Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PW-5
- Registration
- N341PW · registry record · serial 1712023
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was participating in a competition between regional glider pilots. After approximately 2.5 hours of gliding, while heading towards Middletown, New York, the pilot stated that thermal lift began to decrease, so he decided to divert to a closer airport. About 4.1 nautical miles from the airport, his glide computer indicated an estimated arrival altitude of 350 feet agl. Over the next mile, lift continued to be lost and the glider descended about 300 feet, which forced the pilot to find an off airport location to land. The pilot set up a right hand traffic pattern to a hay field and when he made a right turn from the base leg of the traffic pattern to the final leg, the glider's "airspeed was low" and it subsequently "stalled and nosed down."
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: 1,166 hours in all; 326 in this make and model; 51 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 1,131 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 360 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2005; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 660 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine:; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1N7 Blairstown NJ at 5:47 pm
- Destination: 1N7
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 1,100 ft by 110 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from MGJ, 10 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.
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.