Schweizer SGS 1-26E accident near Benton, Tennessee, March 20, 1997
On March 20, 1997 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Schweizer SGS 1-26E (glider), registered N33WP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Benton, Tennessee. It was a personal flight 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 failure of the pilot to maintain altitude and clearance from the trees on a ridge line.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 20, 1997 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Benton, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 1-26E · all SGS 1-26Es on the register
- Registration
- N33WP · no longer on the register · serial 638
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While soaring along a ridge the pilot descended the glider to about 20 feet above the trees. As he made a turn away from the ridge the glider encountered heavy sink and descended. A wing tip caught a tree and the glider spun around and nosed into the trees where it came to rest.
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: 397 hours in all; 95 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 360 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 611 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 21, 1996; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Operator: Wendylene, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 92A at 6:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from CHA, 40 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.