Amateur-built TAIFUN 17E accident near West Arlington, Vermont, July 19, 1991
On July 19, 1991 at about 7:30 pm local time, a amateur-built TAIFUN 17E (glider), registered N333VT, was destroyed in an accident near West Arlington, Vermont. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PHYSIOLOGICAL INCAPACITATION DUE TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE WHICH RESULTED IN INCAPACITATION AND INFLIGHT COLLISION WITH TREES.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 19, 1991 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- West Arlington, Vermont
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built TAIFUN 17E
- Registration
- N333VT · registry record · serial 1051
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE POWERED GLIDER WAS OBSERVED TO MAKE THREE CIRCLES AND THEN DISAPPEAR BEHIND TREES. A CRASH WAS HEARD AND THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN A WOODED AREA. AN AUTOPSY REVEALED THE PILOT HAD CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, INCLUDING, 'SEVERE CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS WITH THROMBOSIS OF BYPASS GRAFTS.'
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,942 hours in all; 61 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 1,942 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 230 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 15, 1991; 7 hours since
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Limbach L-2000-EBIB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0B7 Warren VT at 6:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 54°F (12°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.