Schweizer SGS-2-33A accident near Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1982
On July 31, 1982 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Schweizer SGS-2-33A (glider), registered N7774S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Eighty Four, Pennsylvania (Bandel Airport). 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 1982 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Eighty Four, Pennsylvania · Bandel Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS-2-33A · all SGS-2-33As on the register
- Registration
- N7774S · no longer on the register · serial 144
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE TOW LINE RELEASED AT 40 FEET AGL IN A GLIDER TOW LAUNCH. THE GLIDER PILOT TRIED TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY BUT LANDED ADJACENT TO IT AND COLLIDED WITH A TREE WHICH GROUND-LOOPED THE GLIDER. THE TOW HITCH MECHANISM WAS BROKEN OFF AT THE TUBING CLUSTER & WAS DISTORTED. THE TOW HITCH WAS STILL ATTACHED TO THE GLIDER RELEASE CABLE ONLY & WAS IN THE CLOSED POSITION. HOWEVER, IT WAS STILL CAPABLE OF OPERATING IN ITS DISTORTED CONDITION.
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: 70 hours in all; 70 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 23 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,860 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 73 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,040 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 22D Eighty Four PA at 1:00 pm
- Destination: 22D Eighty Four PA
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 176°F (80°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.
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.