Schweizer SGS 1-26E accident near Lake Elsinore, California, February 3, 2001
On February 3, 2001 at about 11:50 am local time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26E (glider), registered N2685H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lake Elsinore, California (Skylark airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the glider pilot to maintain adequate airspeed during a turn from base leg to final approach, which lead to a stall and spin.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 3, 2001 · about 11:50 am local time
- Place
- Lake Elsinore, California · Skylark
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 1-26E · all SGS 1-26Es on the register
- Registration
- N2685H · no longer on the register · serial 675
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student glider pilot had 25 hours total experience. This was his second flight of the day but his first ever in a single-place glider. He reported the flight was normal until the point where he returned for landing and was entering the landing traffic pattern. "[F]or some reason unknown to me, the glider went into a spin." He recovered from the spin about 200 - 300 feet below normal pattern altitude. He acknowledged that he should have adjusted his pattern to account for the loss of altitude but instead attempted to fly a normal pattern. As the aircraft approached the turning point from base leg to final approach, "I should have continued flying straight ahead, but I attempted to turn anyway. I was going too slow and was much too low to make a turn." The glider entered a spin a second time and impacted the ground. The pilot acknowledged having heard his instructor's instruction over the radio telling him to land straight ahead and not attempt the turn to final approach.
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: student
- Flight time: 25 hours in all; 3 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 5 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 652 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 12, 2000; 151 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 700 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: CA89 Lake Elsinore CA at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 11R, 2,800 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Wind: from 320° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 80 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
- Observation at 7:55 pm from RIV, 17 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.