Schweizer SGS-2-33A accident near Bloomingburg, New York, May 19, 1996
On May 19, 1996 at about 4:40 pm local time, a Schweizer SGS-2-33A (glider), registered N65847, suffered minor damage in an accident near Bloomingburg, New York. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 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 adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall spin and collision with trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 1996 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Bloomingburg, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS-2-33A · all SGS-2-33As on the register
- Registration
- N65847 · no longer on the register · serial 337
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he was ridge soaring, when he encountered a wind gust, and the glider drifted over the crest of a ridge. He tried to return to the windward side of the ridge; however, he encountered a wind shear, the glider stalled, and then it entered a spin. The pilot recovered from the spin at a low altitude and flew into an area of scrub oaks in a nose down attitude. The pilot reported: 'Flying faster could have avoided the stall....'
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 554 hours in all; 159 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 377 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,781 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 29, 1996; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,040 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: N82 Wurtsboro NY at 4:15 pm
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 pm from MSV, 19 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.