Schweizer SGS 1-35 accident near Seaside, Oregon, May 6, 2000
On May 6, 2000 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Schweizer SGS 1-35 (glider), registered N34173, was substantially damaged in an accident near Seaside, Oregon. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper decision to continue to a point where he could not be assured of reaching a safe landing-out site if he encountered an area of significant sink after departing his planned route of flight. Factors include downdrafts, terrain that contained no suitable landing sites, and trees at the location where the pilot found it necessary to execute a forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 6, 2000 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Seaside, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 1-35 · all SGS 1-35s on the register
- Registration
- N34173 · registry record · serial 12
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While en route on the west side of Oregon's Coastal Range, the glider pilot reached a point where he felt he could not be assured of successfully continuing on his planned route. He therefore turned toward Seaside, Oregon, hoping to land at the Seaside Airport. But soon after making the turn, the aircraft encountered significant sink. Once the pilot realized that he was not going to make it to the airport, he started looking for a safe place to land out, but he was not able to find one. When he was about three miles from the airport, he determined he could not proceed much further, so he elected to make a forced landing in a group of small deciduous trees. Although he was not injured, the aircraft sustained substantial damage when it collided with the trees.
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
- Ratings: rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,921 hours in all; 1,124 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 1,257 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,217 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 1999; 146 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 930 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MMV Mcminnville OR at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA00LA085.