Amateur-built SCIMITAR accident near Hardscrabble, Virginia, April 25, 1998
On April 25, 1998 at about 5:30 pm local time, a amateur-built SCIMITAR (glider), registered N102PX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hardscrabble, Virginia. 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 pilots encounter with an unexpected downdraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 25, 1998 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hardscrabble, Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SCIMITAR
- Registration
- N102PX · no longer on the register · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was ridge soaring and encountered an unexpected down current from an upwind plateau causing him to execute an emergency landing to a field approximately 450 feet in length. After touchdown the pilot ground looped the glider to avoid hitting a tree.
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; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,200 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 1,100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 120 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 23, 1998; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 525 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Julian PA at 3:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:42 pm from SHD, 309 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.