Schweizer SGS 1-26B accident near Chula Vista, California, May 1, 1983
On May 1, 1983, a Schweizer SGS 1-26B (glider), registered N2478W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chula Vista, California. It was an instructional 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 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 1, 1983
- Place
- Chula Vista, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 1-26B · all SGS 1-26Bs on the register
- Registration
- N2478W · no longer on the register · serial 375
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE WAS SOARING ALONG THE WEST SLOPE OF A SMALL MOUNTAIN WHEN HE INADVERTENTLY ENTERED AN AREA WHERE THE WIND WAS OBSTRUCTED BY TERRAIN FEATURES. HIS AIRSPEED DETERIORATED & HE TRIED TO TURN TOWARD AN AREA WHERE HE COULD OBTAIN LIFT. HOWEVER, THE LEFT WING TIP STRUCK THE GROUND & THE GLIDER CARTWHEELED. THE RATED, SINGLE-ENGINE, MULTIENGINE PILOT WAS ON HIS 5TH SOLO INSTRUCTIONAL FLT.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,793 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 3,542 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,750 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 19, 1982; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Chula Vista CA at 8:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N2478W the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.