Pzl-Bielsko SZD-59 accident near Truckee, California, September 14, 1998
On September 14, 1998 at about 9:08 pm local time, a Pzl-Bielsko SZD-59 (glider), registered N59SE, was destroyed in an accident near Truckee, California (Truckee-Tahoe airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient airspeed which resulted in a inadvertent stall/spin.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 14, 1998 · about 9:08 pm local time
- Place
- Truckee, California · Truckee-Tahoe · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Pzl-Bielsko SZD-59
- Registration
- N59SE · no longer on the register · serial B-2166
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was approximately 350 feet over the trees and was having trouble gaining lift. He reported that he made a turn, slowed his airspeed to 46 knots, and applied excessive rudder in the turn. The glider entered a spin and subsequently impacted a grove of pine trees that were approximately 70 feet agl. The pilot did not report experiencing any mechanical discrepancies, but stated that he should have monitored his airspeed more carefully and should have been more careful with turn coordination.
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: rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 113 hours in all; 42 in this make and model; 56 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 92 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 272 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 6, 1998; 98 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,191 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TRK Truckee CA at 8:52 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°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 N59SE the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX98LA293.