Schweizer 2-32 accident near Warner Springs, California, October 11, 1997
On October 11, 1997, a Schweizer 2-32 (glider), registered N242DB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Warner Springs, California. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed, 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions after inadvertently encountering mountain wave and associated downdraft conditions. The obscuration and high/mountainous terrain were related factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 1997
- Place
- Warner Springs, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed, 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer 2-32
- Registration
- N242DB · no longer on the register · serial 42
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The sailplane pilot departed on a 40-minute scenic flight. The sailplane was released from the airplane tow at 8,000 feet. According to passenger statements, they reached a height of 14,000 feet msl. They also stated that near the end of the flight time, the pilot descended through clouds. The sailplane collided with mountainous terrain about 6,000 feet msl. An ocean/atmosphere scientist glider pilot was flying the same area near the accident time. He stated that the day was dominated by powerful, yet rapidly changing lee wave systems, producing 10/20 knot updrafts and downdrafts in the coastal mountain ranges of the lower Southern California Bight. He stated that the lee wave structure is normally very steady and reliable. Based on about 1,800 hours of flying the wave, he believed that this unusual day was a 1 in 1,000 occurrence changing minute by minute. He stated that on three separate occasions, he encountered abrupt disintegration of a well ordered non-hydrostatic wave, which resulted in the immediate loss of 7,000 to 10,000 feet of altitude.
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: instructor: glider; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 6,636 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 6,616 as pilot in command; 5,147 on instruments
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,204 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 12, 1997; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,430 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CL35 CA at 11:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:46 pm from CRQ, 43 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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 N242DB 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.