Amateur-built HP-18 accident near Kutztown, Pennsylvania, May 7, 2000
On May 7, 2000 at about 4:40 pm local time, a amateur-built HP-18 (glider), registered N67TT, was destroyed in an accident near Kutztown, Pennsylvania (Kutztown Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the glider. A factor related to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in make and model.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 7, 2000 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Kutztown, Pennsylvania · Kutztown Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built HP-18
- Registration
- N67TT · registry record · serial 67
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A powered airplane was towing the glider. During the takeoff roll, the glider lifted off the ground and began to rise too high. The pilot overcorrected the glider and it struck the ground. 'Pilot induced oscillations' ensued, and the pilot could not control them. The pilot released the towrope, and the glider 'cartwheeled' on the ground before coming to rest inverted. The pilot reported 250 hours of total experience in gliders, with no experience in make and model.
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: rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 250 hours in all; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 230 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 386 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 28, 2000; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 950 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: N31 at 4:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 2,260 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from RDG, 11 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.