Slingsby Aviation Plc T65A accident near Bethel, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1997
On July 12, 1997 at about 8:35 pm local time, a Slingsby Aviation Plc T65A (glider), registered N111XX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Pennsylvania (Grimes 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 improper flare. A factor in the accident was the pilot's fatigue.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 12, 1997 · about 8:35 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Pennsylvania · Grimes Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Slingsby Aviation Plc T65A
- Registration
- N111XX · registry record · serial 1926
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that after about 4 hours of flight, he elected to land his glider at Bethel due to a lack of updrafts. He put the gear down and 'and began making preparations for landing. Upon reaching pattern altitude...I found myself in a nose down attitude, in what may have been a spin.' He recovered from the maneuver, but lost significant altitude in the process. He deployed the spoilers to land, and heard a warning alarm. Then the glider impacted the ground hard enough for the canopy to separate. After sitting for several minutes, the pilot exited the glider. The pilot later wrote that he felt 'heat stress and physical fatigue...from working thermals as conditions weakened. Earlier termination of flight would have been prudent.'
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: glider; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 248 hours in all; 43 in this make and model; 47 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 213 as pilot in command; 12 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 499 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 17, 1997; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,120 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0PA0 Perkasie PA at 4:05 pm
- Destination: 0PA0 PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 2,825 ft by 180 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:45 pm from RDG, 17 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.