Amateur-built HP-14 accident near Warren/Sugarbus, Vermont, July 29, 1989
On July 29, 1989 at about 7:45 pm local time, a amateur-built HP-14 (glider), registered GQLB, was destroyed in an accident near Warren/Sugarbus, Vermont. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED WHILE MANEUVERING IN SHIFTING/TURBULENT AIR, AND HIS INADEQUATE REMEDIAL ACTION TO AVOID OR RECOVER FROM THE INADVERTENT SPIN. THE SHIFTING/TURBULENT/GUSTY WIND CONDITION WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 1989 · about 7:45 pm local time
- Place
- Warren/Sugarbus, Vermont
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built HP-14
- Registration
- GQLB · no longer on the register · serial CB 002
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER HAD BEEN RIDGE FLYING IN THE GLIDER FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE GLIDER ENTERED A SPIN & TURNED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE CRASHING NEAR THE TOP OF A WOODED MOUNTAIN. THE WITNESSES, WHO WERE IN OTHER GLIDERS, SAID THE WIND WAS SHIFTING FROM WEST TO NORTHWEST AT 10 GUSTING 20 KTS WITH THERMALS & TURBULENCE IN THE 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: foreign licence, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 353 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 44 in the last 30 days; 275 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 299 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 21, 1989; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OB7 Warren VT at 3:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from BTV, 26 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.