Schweizer SGS2-33 accident near Mokuleia, Hawaii, April 23, 1987
On April 23, 1987 at about 2:00 am local time, a Schweizer SGS2-33 (glider), registered N11468, was destroyed in an accident near Mokuleia, Hawaii. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people 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
- April 23, 1987 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Mokuleia, Hawaii · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS2-33 · all SGS2-33s on the register
- Registration
- N11468 · registry record · serial 76
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A LOCAL SIGHTSEEING FLT ALONG A RIDGE LINE, WHILE MANEUVERING AROUND A CLOUD BUILD-UP, THE ACFT ENTERED A WINDSHEAR THAT SUDDENLY NOSED THE ACFT OVER IN AN APRX 75 DEG VERTICAL DIVE. JUST PRIOR TO COLLIDING WITH TREES, THE PLT WAS ABLE TO REGAIN SOME CONTROL OF THE ACFT AND COLLIDED WITH THE TERRAIN IN AN APRX 45 DEG ATTITUDE. IN THESE MOUNTAINS A CATABATIC WIND OFTEN FLOWS DOWNSLOPE AS SOLAR HEAT IS RADIATED FROM THE TERRAIN, COOLING THE TERRAIN SURFACE. THE TRADE WINDS CROSS THE RIDGES OBLIQUELY RESULTING IN EDDIES THAT PRODUCE OFF RIDGE FLOW. WHEN THE EDDIES AND CATABATIC GUSTS COINCIDE, A WIND SHEAR CAN OCCUR.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 5,400 hours in all; 497 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 5,100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,817 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 9, 1987; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,430 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Operator: Honolulu Soaring Club, INC.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.