Maule MX-7-160 accident near Palm Bch Garden, Florida, December 3, 1999
On December 3, 1999 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Maule MX-7-160, registered N9235N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palm Bch Garden, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 sailplane pilot's failure to comply with standard emergency procedures for 'sailplane release failure' upon its occurrence and his maneuvering of the sailplane while still tethered to the tow plane resulting in the inflight loss of control and engine stoppage of the tow airplane during it's uncontrolled descent and inflight collision with trees and swampland.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 3, 1999 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Palm Bch Garden, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Maule MX-7-160 · all MX-7-160s on the register
- Registration
- N9235N · no longer on the register · serial 19004C
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The glider pilot stated that he could not get a towline release at the prebriefed release altitude of 3,000 feet agl, and kept trying until he did effect a release at about 1,200 feet agl. The tow pilot stated that they were still in the towed climb at about 2,800 feet agl, when he experienced an abrupt pull up to the right by the glider that caused a stall and spin of the tow airplane. The towline was finally released simultaneously at about 1,200 feet agl, by both aircraft, and the glider made it back to the gliderport for a normal landing. The tow pilot recovered from the spin at about 700 feet agl, but the engine quit running in the spin, and there was no time to get it restarted. The tow airplane performed a forced landing to a swamp area.
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: single-engine land; instructor: glider; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 743 hours in all; 159 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 640 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,054 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 15, 1999; 74 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: F45 Palm Bch Garden FL at 7:16 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,800 ft; clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from PBI, 14 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.